The wait for these space events is about to pay off

From moon and Mars journeys to a solar eclipse, the year 2026 has a lot to offer

- KATRINA MILLER & MICHAEL ROSTON

THE THING ABOUT space is that you have to be patient. The universe does not bend to earthly time scales, and events are governed by the unalterable realities of physics and engineering. They will happen when they are good and ready. In 2026, there is some hope that your patience will be rewarded.

Below, enjoy this list of developments that has been anticipated this year.

The Artemis II mission

NASA is sending astronauts back toward the moon. No, for real this time. It has been more than 50 years since humans exited low-Earth orbit and traveled around the moon.

In the time since, space agencies have built space shuttles and space stations, but their crews have remained within our planet’s close embrace. Early in 2026, astronauts from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will again travel around the moon and back. The 10-day journey will not greatly differ from that of Apollo 8, the first time NASA astronauts looped around the moon, in December 1968. But if the mission gets off the ground at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, it will prove that the Orion capsule, a key vehicle in NASA’s lunar infrastructure, is a safe ride for astronauts. It could happen as soon as February.

The new moon race