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NASA's Artemis II mission heads to launch pad in two weeks
NASA announced Friday that its Artemis II mission will roll out to the launch pad in under two weeks, kicking off the first crewed trip to lunar orbit in more than five decades. Industry watchers call this the start of an unprecedented year for lunar missions, with at least five commercial landers also targeting 2026 launches alongside NASA's flagship program.
NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens confirmed the Space Launch System rocket will move to the pad by mid-January, with a launch window opening February 6 and running through April. The mission will send four astronauts NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, plus Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen on a roughly 10-day trip around the Moon. It marks the first human journey beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The lunar surge extends far beyond NASA's government program. Four private companies gear up for 2026 landings under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which tasks firms with delivering scientific instruments to the Moon's surface.
Blue Origin plans to launch its Blue Moon Mark 1 pathfinder this month aboard the newly unveiled New Glenn rocket, aiming for the lunar south pole. Firefly Aerospace targets a far-side landing in the second quarter a feat achieved only by China to date carrying payloads including a radio telescope and the UAE's Rashid 2 rover.
Intuitive Machines readies its IM-3 mission for the first half of 2026, eyeing the enigmatic Reiner Gamma region where unusual magnetic fields create swirling bright patterns visible from Earth. The company redesigned its lander after prior mission hurdles, adding redundant laser rangefinders and detailed crater mapping for better landing precision.
Astrobotic Technology delayed its Griffin-1 to July 2026, when it will carry Astrolab's FLIP rover to the lunar south pole on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This marks Astrobotic's second landing attempt after its Peregrine lander failed to reach the Moon in January 2024.
China plans to launch Chang'e 7 in August 2026, deploying an orbiter, lander, mini-hopping probe, and rover to the lunar south pole to hunt for water ice. The mission carries instruments from six countries and an international organization, highlighting growing global collaboration in lunar exploration.
SpaceX aims for Starship Flight 12 in the first quarter of 2026, debuting the Version 3 vehicle with vastly increased propellant capacity. This test proves critical for NASA's Artemis program, as Starship holds the contract for the crewed landing system on Artemis III, now eyed no earlier than 2027.
Analysts note 2026 missions rely heavily on government funding rather than pure commercial demand. A Center for Strategic and International Studies report states "truly commercial uses of the Moon remain a chimera, with no clear sign that could change in coming years." NASA's CLPS contracts and international space agency programs drive the activity, fostering what some dub an emerging "Moon as a service" economic model.
