By 2026, the Artemis program is expected to accelerate as crewed and robotic lunar missions ramp up. Artemis II will test Orion systems with four astronauts on a lunar flyby, while multiple CLPS missions from Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, Firefly, and Astrobotic will attempt landings and technology demonstrations. Parallel development from SpaceX and Blue Origin aims to field a crewed lunar lander by 2028, shaping the next phase of international competition for the Moon.
2026: The Year NASA’s Return to the Moon Accelerates — Artemis II, CLPS Missions, and a New Lunar Lander Race
If 2022 marked the formal restart of lunar missions with the uncrewed Artemis I flight, 2026 is poised to be the year that return-to-the-moon efforts accelerate dramatically.
Artemis II — scheduled no earlier than Feb. 6, 2026 — will send four astronauts on a crewed lunar flyby and test Orion spacecraft systems in deep space. It will be the first human mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 and a direct precursor to a future Artemis III lunar landing.
The moon is becoming a far busier destination as a new wave of Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) robotic probes and competing human-landing systems from SpaceX and Blue Origin ramp up development. Together, these efforts form the practical backbone of NASA’s Artemis return-to-the-moon strategy.
Commercial Lunar Payload Services: Who’s Heading to the Moon in 2026
After a brief pause, CLPS missions are resuming. To date, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 — which touched down on Mare Crisium on March 2 — is the program’s most complete success. Several additional CLPS landings are currently planned for 2026, with dates subject to change:
- Blue Origin — Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 (early 2026): Aimed at the lunar south pole, carrying the Blue Moon Mark-1 cargo lander on the company’s first attempt to touch down on the Moon.
- Intuitive Machines — IM-3 (first half of 2026): Targeting the Reiner Gamma region on Oceanus Procellarum; the company’s earlier landers were described as "incomplete successes" after ending up on their sides.
- Firefly Aerospace — Blue Ghost Mission 2 (late 2026): Planned for the far side of the Moon; Firefly seeks to follow its first success with another touchdown.
- Astrobotic Technologies — Griffin Mission 1 (July 2026): Targeting the Nobile Crater near the lunar south pole; Astrobotic’s prior attempt failed, making this flight a key comeback effort.
One payload to watch on Griffin Mission 1 is the FLIP rover, a technology demonstrator from Astrolab. FLIP’s experiments will inform the design of the larger FLEX rover, which is being planned to carry astronauts or operate autonomously on the surface.
Risk, Learning, and the Value of Iteration
Not every mission will succeed, and recent experience shows lunar landings are hard. But iterative testing and commercial competition are accelerating learning: failures yield data that improve subsequent designs and increase the likelihood of consistent success over time.
The Human-Lander Race: SpaceX vs. Blue Origin
A parallel storyline for 2026 and beyond is the competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin to deliver a crewed lunar lander. SpaceX plans a smaller, likely nonreusable variant of Starship. Blue Origin aims to adapt its Blue Moon Mark-1 for crew transport. Both companies target a system capable of carrying astronauts to and from the lunar surface by 2028 — a timeline that will shape whether the United States reclaims a high-profile lunar milestone or whether other nations achieve it first.
Why CLPS Matters for Artemis and a Sustained Lunar Presence
CLPS plays a crucial role in the Artemis architecture by advancing landing and surface-operation technologies and supporting science objectives like resource prospecting. These capabilities are essential not only for early missions such as Artemis III but for any future sustained outpost. Long-term lunar operations will depend heavily on identifying and using local resources to reduce the cost and complexity of supplying crews from Earth.
While U.S. media coverage in 2026 will likely focus on domestic politics and elections, the return-to-the-moon program represents a milestone that could be remembered far beyond any single news cycle. Successful Artemis missions, CLPS landings, and a working human landing system would mark a new era of sustained human activity beyond Earth.
About the author: Mark R. Whittington is a frequent commentator on space policy and the author of several books, including Why Is It So Hard To Go Back To The Moon?, The Moon, Mars And Beyond, and Why Is America Going Back To The Moon?. He publishes commentary at Curmudgeons Corner.
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