NASA, Moon and Artemis II crew
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Last year delivered doses of drama and excitement in the space business, with a record number of launches, breathtaking vistas of other worlds, and a multitude of breakthroughs and setbacks. 2026 is shaping up to be another thrilling year in the cosmos.
NASA has set a date for a return to the Moon, as part of the U.S. space agency’s ambitious Artemis program.
The coming year's space highlights include a NASA mission that will send astronauts around the moon and a Blue Origin lunar lander mission.
A growing fleet of privately built spacecraft is preparing to attempt robotic landings on the moon as humanity's exploration efforts expand.
A supercomputer simulation of the Apollo 12 landing on the moon was created to "improve its understanding of plume-surface interactions," according to NASA. Credit: Patrick Moran, NASA Ames Research Center/Andrew Weaver,