With many missions on the manifest, the new year promises to be packed with space science. Two interplanetary spacecraft will arrive at their destinations as another Mars window opens in late 2026. Meanwhile, multiple space telescopes have their launch dates set for this year, and the schedule promises an increased cadence for lunar missions.<\/p>\n
The year follows another busy year in space science, which saw multiple space telescopes launched and the first fully successful commercial lunar mission. In 2025, NASA announced the discovery of ingredients for life in ancient asteroid material, while scientists studied potential traces of ancient life on Mars. Multiple missions ended last year, and 2025 left one of NASA\u2019s Mars explorers in peril.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
More lunar missions to launch following 2025 successes and failures<\/p>\n
With lunar exploration on the rise globally, 2026 is set to see an increase in lunar missions. In the first few months of 2025, three commercial landers attempted to touch down on the Moon, but only one of them successfully landed. Two of last year\u2019s missions will see follow-up attempts in the coming year, which also has three additional lunar missions on the schedule.<\/p>\n
Early in 2025, two lunar landers shared a ride atop SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9. Launching on Jan. 15, Firefly Aerospace\u2019s Blue Ghost lander and ispace\u2019s Hakuto-R Mission 2 lander Resilience started their missions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n