What are the plans with the Moon in 2025 and 2026?
It has been a bit quiet lately when it comes to space initiatives. And the missions that are there are not always from a slate roof. Today it is exactly 56 years ago that humanity set foot on the moon for the first time. Neil Armstrong was the man, and now we are about to put the first woman on the moon. But when will that happen exactly?
Space travel takes time
If there is something you need to know about space travel, it is that it is not an industry of the deadlines. Safety stands for everything and safety needs time. So many new things are also done that it is simply a kind of trial & error. It’s not for nothing that the last few times went to launch, but also for launching, just as well wrong with SpaceX. Those who want to push the boundaries – literally and figuratively, will have to take risks.
In short, space initiatives sometimes take more time and that is also the reason that the first woman has not yet set foot on the moon. The same applies to the first person in color. The intention is to happen to the Artemis III mission. Once it should already be over at the moment, but the launch date is now different.
NASA Artemis II and III
In fact, we first have to wait for Artemis II, where the moon is not landed, but it is flown to the moon with astronauts. That mission is on the program for April 2026, which means that it will take a while before the third mission leaves. That would be at least half past eight27. And then the Space Launch System has to work completely well, so SpaceX must ensure that it has its affairs in order for the following launches.
Furthermore, it is certainly not only NASA that counts. There have now been successful landings on the moon through China, India, Japan and Russia. Not always with astronauts, but also with devices, although Japan has been less lucky with that lately. Resilience of ISPACE crashed on the moon this year, after the private space company already had a failed moon mission in 2023. So there is not much luck when it comes to that white ball. And then we haven’t even talked about Donald Trump, who doesn’t really seem to be a fan of the space, especially since his fight with SpaceX leader Elon Musk. So it is just waiting to see if NASA gets enough funds to do everything that intends.
Blue Moon and Griffin
As far as NASA and the Moon are concerned, the next big mission is Artemis II, where Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency), Christina Koch (NASA), Victor Glover (NASA) and Reid Wiseman (NASA) go to the moon, but not landing there. That only happens in April 2026, so this year it is still a bit boring in the moon. Also from other space organizations.
We do get an interesting launch in August, namely Blue Origin that promises his Blue Moon and New Glenn to launch his Pathfinder mission. Only in 2026 follows a bit big again, such as the IM-3 mission of Intuitive Machines and NASA to transport freight to the Reiner Gamma region. The Griffin mission of Astrobotic will follow in September, but a lot of hassle has already been around, so whether that is still on the role is waiting.
In 2026 it will be an interesting moon year again, in addition to Artemis and IM-3, for example, the Australian Space Agency with the CLPS Lander, ISPACE with the Apex 1.0 and Fireffly Aerospace with Blue Ghost M2. The Chinese are also jerking with their Chang’e 7-initiative and Canada also has a moon robber in 2026 who likes to put it where he belongs. So enough is coming, but we are now in a quieter waters. A kind of ebb, for the flood of 2026.