In 2026, NASA's return to the moon moves into high gear.

Artemis II is scheduled no earlier than Feb. 6, 2026, to carry four astronauts around the moon, and multiple Commercial Lunar Payload Services robotic missions from Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, Firefly and Astrobotic are planned across 2026.

In 2026, several planned missions and development efforts are set to accelerate NASA's return to the moon. Artemis II is scheduled no earlier than Feb. 6, 2026, to carry four astronauts around the moon and to test Orion systems in deep space. A new wave of Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) robotic missions is planned after a pause in launches. Competing human lander efforts from SpaceX and Blue Origin are also advancing toward crewed lunar lander designs. Key details: - Artemis II is slated no earlier than Feb. 6, 2026, and will fly four astronauts around the moon to exercise Orion systems in deep space. - The CLPS program includes several planned 2026 missions: Blue Origin's Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 (early 2026) targeting the lunar south pole with the Blue Moon Mark-1 cargo lander. - Intuitive Machines IM-3 is scheduled for the first half of 2026 with a planned landing at the Reiner Gamma area on Oceanus Procellarum; the company's prior attempts ended with landers on their sides. - Firefly Aerospace plans Blue Ghost Mission 2 for late 2026 with a target on the lunar far side; Firefly's first Blue Ghost mission successfully landed on Mare Crisium in March 2023. - Astrobotic Technologies' Griffin Mission 1 is scheduled for July 2026 to attempt a landing at Nobile Crater near the south pole and will carry the FLIP rover technology demonstrator from Astrolab. - SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing human-capable lunar landers; both projects aim for systems capable of taking astronauts to and from the lunar surface with target readiness cited around 2028. Summary: These planned robotic missions, the Artemis II crewed circumlunar flight, and parallel human-lander development are central elements of the near-term return-to-moon effort. The immediate milestone is the Artemis II flight, followed by a series of CLPS lander attempts through 2026 that will test lunar landing and surface technologies. The ongoing lander programs aim to produce crew-capable systems in the coming years and to support later Artemis surface missions. Undetermined at this time.