Man has walked on the moon–a line we heard in 1969 for the first time ever. Since then, scientists have made multiple advancements within space, but man has not walked on the moon since 1972. We tend to hear little information regarding what is occurring in space and the advancements being made. However, it was not pushed onto the back burner, and the mystery of outer space was never left behind.
So far, 2026 has already been a year that will be remembered. With the Epstein files, the war on Iran, and everything in between, news outlets have been busy as bees. What we are not hearing about often is that 2026, and then 2028, will be landmark years for space exploration. Leading the way of notable exploration is NASA’s Artemis II mission, which is set to be launched in April of 2026. The mission will send four astronauts around the moon and will be the first human deep-space mission since 1972.
Artemis launched their first mission over three years ago, Artemis I, and NASA has been unable to speed up the second expedition. The mission was originally to be launched in February, but the team suffered setbacks due to a liquid hydrogen leak during a rehearsal. Issues have continued to arise during following rehearsals, and the launch date has been pushed back again. NASA is also suffering from a major loss in employees, causing more strain to future explorations. Despite these prominent issues, NASA is still moving forward with the plan to launch the second Artemis mission in April and the planned launches moving forward.
Currently, Artemis has two launches planned after Artemis II is completed. Artemis III is planned to complete technology tests in the Earth’s low orbit. Originally, the third mission was set to land humans on the moon, but the plan was as moved into the fourth mission. Artemis IV hopes to have man walk on the moon, but will not be completed until at least 2028. NASA will attempt to have two missions sending humans to the moon in 2028, and plans to send one launch a year following 2028.
2028 seems that it will be just as memorable for space exploration as 2026 is set to be. Along with the Artemis mission, NASA is also planning their Dragonfly mission to launch in 2028. The mission plans to launch a rotorcraft drone to Titan, the largest moon of planet Saturn. Dragonfly will be launched in order to deeper explore Titan’s environment and atmosphere. However, the drone will not land until 2034.
Though space exploration may not be at the top of our priority list at the moment, finding the possibilities of what else is out there will be extraordinary. Within exploring space, we have the ability to understand the universe surrounding us and better comprehend how outer space operates. As these launches approach, we will begin to see man in space, and hopefully in the next few years, man will walk on the moon once more.
