 |
● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity, ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in local time unless noted. |
2025
★ NET Feb 3 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / SPHEREx & PUNCH, SLC 4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: SPHEREx is a near-infrared light mission to analyze more than 300 million galaxies, search for water / organic molecules; PUNCH will study origins of solar wind, develop techniques for predicting.
☆ Feb 3 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 RE3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.039 AU)
● Feb 4-6 — Planetary Science Institute, Tucson AZ: Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement; participants engage to discuss and model effective strategies for engaging Black and Latinx communities in planetary science.
● Feb 4-6 — NASA, Mercury Exploration Assessment Group, Universities Space Research Association, Online / Laurel MD: MExAG Annual Meeting 2025; to share the science of Mercury exploration.
● Feb 4-6 — SatNews Publishers, Mountain View CA: 10th Smallsat Symposium; in person access US$1,695, virtual $795; at Computer History Museum.
● Feb 6 – National Science Foundation, ISS National Laboratory, Online: Feasibility Review Form due for proposed research to be conducted onboard the International Space Station; funding will be provided.
o Feb 7 — International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Online: Proposals Due for IAF 2025 Technical Special Sessions.
● Feb 8 – American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, AIAA Los Angeles Section, Online / Lomita CA: Space Sustainability mini-Conference (AIAA LA New Space 2025; 10:00-16:00 PST.
☆ Feb 9 — Hope Orbiter, Mars Orbit: UAE Hope, studying Mars atmosphere and climate, reaches 4 full years / enters 5th year in Mars orbit today; launched July 19, 2020 on JAXA H2A rocket, arrived at Mars on this day 2021.
☆ Feb 10 — Tianwen-1 Orbiter, Mars Orbit: China Tianwen-1 orbiter reaches 4 full years / begins 5th year of operations in Mars orbit; Lander & Rover touched down ~3 months after this date at Utopia Planitia 25.1°N, 109.9°E; launched July 2020, reached orbit 2021.
★ Feb 10 — Solar Orbiter (SolO), Elliptical Heliocentric Orbit: ESA / NASA craft to observe and measure solar phenomena reaches 5th full year / enters 6th year in space, having launched 2020.
● Feb 11-20 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Online: Course: Business Development for Aerospace Professionals; 12 classroom hours / 1.2 CEU/PDH; US$295-995.
● Feb 12 — Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington DC: 27th Annual Commercial Space Conference: Launching Tomorrow: Government and Industry Taking Space to New Heights.
★ Feb 17 — Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS), LEO: Three satellites in magnetosphere (two in Moon orbit – now called ARTEMIS) reach 18 full years / enter 19th year in space today; launched 2007.
★ Feb 18 — Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, Jezero Crater, Mars Surface: NASA craft reaches 4 full years / enters 5th year on Mars surface having landed on this day in 2021, carrying Ingenuity helicopter – the first craft to successfully complete powered flights off-Earth.
● Feb 19 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
o Feb 20-22 — Pangea Global Events (PAGES), Rome, Italy: 3rd International Conference on Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering.
☾ Feb 22 — Intuitive Machines IM-1 Nova-C Lander, Near Malapert A Crater, Moon (80.13° S, 1.44°E): First annual observation of 1st successful commercial lunar landing on Moon; carried 6 NASA and 6 independent payloads including ILO-X.
● Feb 23-25 — University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville AL: Business of Space Conference 2025: Creating Solutions with Partnerships: Opportunities and Barriers.
☆ Feb 25 — Arianespace, Launch Ariane 6-2 / CSO-3, Launch Area 4, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana: 2nd launch rocket and 1st overseen by Arianespace will carry reconnaissance satellite for French military to SSO.
● Feb 25-27 — NASA, Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), Online / Tucson AZ: OPAG Annual Meeting 2025.
★ NET Feb 26 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Intuitive Machines IM-2 NOVA-C Athena Lander / PRIME-1, LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Under US$47M NASA CLPS, Intuitive Machines 2nd lander launches to Mons Mouton, 84.6° S, with PRIME-1 drill and MSolo, Micro-Nova Hopper ($46.1M Tipping Point award), planned private payloads: York Space Systems lunar communications satellite, Nokia 4G/LTE system for communication between vehicles on lunar surface, and Spaceflight Sherpa Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV); Lunar Trailblazer orbiter is secondary payload.
o Feb 26-27 — Singapore Space & Technology Limited, Singapore: 17th Global Space Technology Convention & Exhibition (GSTCE 2025); highlighting AI and its shaping of space and technology; at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, SGD 1,299-1,799.
● Feb 26-27 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Houston TX: ASCENDxTexas; collaborations emphasized: political, strategic, acquisitional, mission-driven; keynote speakers Joel Montalbano, Amit Kshatriya, Chirag Parikh; at South Shore Harbour Resort, US$199-449.
☆ Feb 28 — Roscosmos, Launch Soyuz 2.1a / Progress MS-30 (91P), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Russia: Resupply mission to launch to International Space Station.
● Feb 28 — NASA, Harvard, Online: Astrophoto Challenge: of Andromeda and/or Cartwheel; your own or NASA image(s).
o Feb 28 — International Astronautical Federation, Online: Abstracts due for IAC 2025; to be held Sep 29 – Oct 3.
● Feb 28 – Mar 2 — Academy for the Relentless Exploration of Space, ARES Learning, El Paso TX and New Mexico: Earth and Space Science for Educators; with visits to Virgin Galactic Spaceport America, Space History Museum, Kilbourne Hole Crater, White Sands National Park, et al; US$999-1,299.
☆ NET Mar — ISRO, Launch PSLV Mk 2 / NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), Satish Dhawan Space Center, India: The joint-developed dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on Earth observation satellite NISAR planned to launch via ISRO PSLV Mk 2 from India.
★ NET Mar — Blue Origin, Launch New Glenn / Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE), Pad TBD, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Pair of smallsats for Mars orbit to measure interaction of magnetosphere and solar wind.
★ NET Mar — Blue Origin, Launch New Glenn / Blue Moon “Pathfinder”, TBA: First lunar lander from Blue Origin to launch to Moon South Pole region with payloads including NASA Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS).
● Mar 1-8 — Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Big Sky MT: 46th IEEE Aerospace Conference; at Yellowstone Conference Center, US$125-1,860.
☾ Mar 2 — Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Mission 1, Mare Crisium ~18.56°N, 61.81°E, Lunar Landing: Firefly Aerospace first lunar lander mission under US$93.3M NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services to attempt lunar touchdown carrying 10 NASA payloads today which is ~45 days after January 15 launch.
★ Mar 4 — Juno, Perijove 70 / 69th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 70, its 70th close flyby of Jupiter and 69th science flyby with instruments turned on.
● Mar 4 — National Space Society, Online: Entries Due: Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime Prize; for business plans that advance space settlement, 3 cash awards with a team member presenting at ISDC 2025.
● Mar 4-5 — International Academy of Astronautics, University of Texas at Austin, et al, Online / Austin TX: 11th Space Traffic Management Conference: From the Ground Up and Back.
☾ NET Mar 6-7 — Intuitive Machines IM-2 NOVA-C Athena Lander / PRIME-1, Mons Mouton, 84.6° S, Lunar Landing: Under US$47M NASA CLPS, Intuitive Machines to attempt second Moon surface landing; Athena to touchdown with PRIME-1 drill and MSolo, Micro-Nova Hopper, and private payloads.
★ Mar 10 — Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft enters 19 full years / begins 20th year in Mars orbit today, continues to study seasonal changes on planet circling at 300-km near-polar orbit; launched Aug 12, 2005, entered orbit Mar 10, 2006.
● Mar 10-14 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, Online / Woodlands TX: 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC25); at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.
● Mar 10 – Apr 16 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Online: Course: Design of Space Launch Vehicles; 36 classroom hours, 3.6 CEU/PDH; US$695-1,695.
o Mar 11-12 — UK Space Agency, Lockheed Martin, Skyrora, Lunasa Space, Saxavord UK Spaceport, et al, London, United Kingdom: Space-Comm Expo 2025; with over 200 exhibitors, 120+ speakers, 5,000 attendees.
● Mar 18-21 — University of Southern California, Stevens Institute of Technology, Long Beach CA: Conference on Systems Engineering Research; present, discuss, influence systems engineering research, including for space / aerospace.
● Mar 19 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
● Mar 19-21 — American Astronautical Society, College Park MD: AAS Goddard Space Science Symposium: Space 2025.
● Mar 20 — NASA, Online / Various USA Locations: 4th TechLeap Prize, the Space Technology Payload Challenge; 9 prizes up to $500,000 each for systems that address one or more of NASA’s technology shortfalls.
● Mar 20-21 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Montréal, Quebec, Canada: Region I Student Conference; at École de Technologie Supérieure.
● Mar 21 — National Space Club & Foundation, Washington DC: 68th Annual Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner; 18:30 EDT.
★ Mar 22 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 23rd perihelion today.
o Mar 25-27 — International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Paris, France: IAF 2025 Spring Meetings; at New CAP Conference Centre.
● Mar 27-28 — International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Washington DC: North American Oral Rounds of IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition.
● Mar 28-30 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), TX and CA: Region IV and VI Student Conferences.
● Mar 31 — NASA, Online: Registration due for Phase 1 of NASA LunaRecycle Challenge; offers up to US$3M in prizes for design / development of lunar mission recycling solutions.
● Apr 3-5 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), NC, MN and OH: Region II, III and V Student Conferences.
★ Apr 5 — Juno, Perijove 71 / 70th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 71, its 71st close flyby of Jupiter and 70th science flyby with instruments turned on.
● Apr 7-10 — Space Foundation, Colorado Springs CO: 40th Space Symposium; at the Broadmoor, standard registration US$3,260.
● Apr 9-10 — LPI, USRA, NASA, Online: Lunar Surface Science Workshop 26: Uncrewed Science with the Pressurized Rover.
o Apr 9-10 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Online / Tokyo, Japan: Apophis T-4 Years: Knowledge Opportunity for the Science of Planetary Defense; workshop on international collaboration.
● Apr 10 — Pōwehi Day, Statewide Hawai’i: Recognized proclamation to celebrate the first-ever imaged black hole M87* by Event Horizon Telescope collaboration involving Mauna Kea Observatories, given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi; imaged in April 2017 and released Apr 10, 2019.
● Apr 10-13 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Tucson AZ: 29th Design / Build / Fly Competition; for teams of university students.
o Apr 12 — 64th Commemoration of Human Spaceflight / Cosmonautics Day, Worldwide: Celebrating Yuri Gagarin of Russia, the 1st human to orbit Earth on Vostok 1 spacecraft in 1961; the flight lasted 108 minutes at 27,400 kph and 327 km above Earth.
● Apr 12 — 44th Observation of STS-1 Columbia Flight, Nationwide USA: Commemorations occur today in honor of 1st ever NASA Space Shuttle Columbia carrying John Young and pilot Robert Crippen around Earth on 54.5-hour mission in 1981.
o Apr 12 — 24th Yuri’s Night Celebrations, Global: Yuri’s Night 2025; annual worldwide party to celebrate Yuri Gagarin’s 1st flight into space and promote space exploration.
o Apr 14-17 — Université de Lorraine, University of Connecticut, Florida International University, et al, Metz, France: International Workshop on Granular Materials & Regolith: Granular Materials Fundamentals, Applications and Concepts for Extraterrestrial Regolith, including the Moon, Mars and Asteroids.
★ Apr 18 — Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Highly Elliptical HEO: Space telescope for NASA Explorers program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by Kepler / K2 mission, reaches 7th full year / enters 8th year in space today; launched April 18, 2018.
★ Apr 20 — Lucy, 52246 Donaldjohanson Flyby, Inner Main Asteroid Belt: NASA spacecraft to encounter 11 asteroids will perform its first flyby today / come within 922 km of 4-km diameter 52246 Donaldjohanson asteroid.
o Apr 21-24 — African Space Agency, Egyptian Space Agency, Space in Africa, Cairo, Egypt: 4th NewSpace Africa Conference; emphasizing policy development and business prospects, African Union Commission will officially inaugurate the African Space Agency (AfSA); €250-800, at Egypt Space City.
☆ Apr 24 — Hubble Space Telescope, LEO: Spacecraft with 2.4-meter diameter main telescope begins 36th year in space today, launched Apr 24, 1990; could continue operations until 2040s.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight 2025; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
● Apr 24 — Ad Astra Kansas Day: Initiated in 2003 to promote public awareness of the importance of science & technology to Kansas’ growth; marked for Hubble Space Telescope launch, released by Kansas Astronaut Steve Hawley from Space Shuttle Discovery robotic arm the following day.
o Apr 27 – May 2 — European Geoscience Union, Online / Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly; includes sub-programmes on Moon and Solar System planets.
☆ Apr 29 — Tiangong Space Station (TSS), ~390-km LEO: Tianhe, first component of China TSS reaches 4 full years / enters 5th year in Space today, having launched on this day in 2021.
● Apr 29 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Washington DC: AIAA Honorary Fellows and Fellows Induction Ceremony.
● Apr 30 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Washington DC: AIAA Awards Gala.
☆ NET May — CNSA, Launch Tianwen-2 Asteroid Mission, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): China planning to launch first probe for Asteroid sample return, formerly known as ZhengHe.
o May 2 — International Space Day 2025, Worldwide: First Friday in May, events and presentations to promote STEM education and inspire people to continue the work of Space explorers; originally began as ‘National Space Day’ in 1997 by Lockheed Martin Corp.
o May 7-9 — International Astronautical Federation International Programme Committee, New Delhi, India: Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2025); at Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre).
★ May 8 — Juno, Perijove 72 / 71st Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 72, its 72nd close flyby of Jupiter and 71st science flyby with instruments turned on.
● May 12-16 — Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Baltimore MD: STScI Spring Symposium 2025: Inter+Stellar – Harnessing the Intersection Between Stars and the Interstellar Medium.
☆ May 14 — Tianwen-1 Lander, Utopia Planitia, Mars Surface: China Tianwen-1 Lander reaches 4 full years / enters 5th year of Mars surface operations at / near 25.1°N 109.9°E; landed 2021 with Zhurong Rover.
☾ NET May 15 — Hakuto-R M2 “Resilience”, Lunar Landing: Earliest projected landing date for ispace Japan second mission of Resilience lunar lander, with ~5-kg micro-rover and other payloads, to Mare Frigoris ~60.5°N, 4.6°W; landing to be attempted 4-5 months after January 15 launch.
☾ May 21 — Chang’E-4 Queqiao, Earth-Moon Lagrange Point L2: China Queqiao “bridge of magpies” satellite reaches 7 full years / enters 8th year in space today, launched 2018 to provide far side communications to Earth from CE-4 lander / rover.
● May 21 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
● May 25 — 64th Observation John F. Kennedy 1st Moon Speech, USA / Worldwide: NASA Artemis program to land 1st Woman and Person of Color on Moon is well underway as today is recognized for Kennedy declaring to congress “I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth” (1961).
● May 27 – Jul 25 — USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: Exploration Science summer intern program; activities this year will support Artemis missions.
● May 28-29 — Explore Mars Inc., Washington DC: The 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit; advancing the goal of sustainable / permanent human presence on Moon in 2020s / Mars in 2030s.
● May 31 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, KSC FL: 2025 Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
● May 31 – Jun 1 — Barringer Crater Company, Flagstaff AZ: Impact Cratering and Associated Research US (ICAARUS) Workshop.
☆ NET Jun — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Xuntian, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N), China: Launch of Xuntian (Space Sentinel / Chinese Space Station Telescope ‘Touring the Heavens’) to LEO; will co-orbit with Tiangong Space Station, allowing it to dock periodically; 2-meter primary mirror, 2.5 gigapixel camera.
☾ Jun 1 — Chang’E-6, Apollo Basin, South Pole–Aitken Basin, Moon (153.99° W, 41.64° S): CE-6 lander as part of sample return mission reaches 1 full years / enters 2nd year on lunar surface, having landed on this day in 2024, with sample return launching from the Moon 2 days later.
● Jun 2 – Aug 10 — University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy, Islands of O’ahu, Hawai’i, Maui HI: Paid research internship for undergraduate students.
● Jun 3-6 — Colorado School of Mines, Lunar and Planetary Institute, et al, Golden CO: Space Resources Roundtable meeting XXV; at Colorado School of Mines.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 3rd full year / starts 4th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
☆ Jun 5 — 240th Galactic Tick Day, Milky Way Galaxy: Highlighting Galaxy awareness by celebrating the Solar System traveling around Milky Way Galaxy Center every ~225 million Earth years, one Galactic Tick happens every 633.7 days; first Tick Day was one Tick after October 2nd, 1608 when the first telescope patent was filed.
● Jun 5-8 — NASA, American Astronautical Society, et al, Staunton & Monterey VA: 20th Annual Student CanSat Competition.
● Jun 8-12 — American Astronomical Society, Anchorage AK: 246th Meeting of the AAS; at Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.
★ Jun 10 — Juno, Perijove 73 / 72nd Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 73, its 73rd close flyby of Jupiter and 72nd science flyby with instruments turned on.
★ Jun 13 — Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), LEO: NASA satellite reaches 13 full years / enters 14th year of operations in space today; launched 2012.
o Jun 16 — 62nd Observation of the 1st Woman in Space, Global: Public events and commemorations occur to celebrate the first woman to fly in Space, Valentina Tereshkova of the former Soviet Union; in 1963 she orbited Earth 49 times in Vostok 6.
o Jun 16 — 13th Observation of the 1st Woman from China in Space, Zhongguo / Global: First Woman from China in Space, Liu Yang, celebrated today for her 2012 flight aboard Shenzhou 9, while nation plans completion of Tiangong Space Station and landing people on the Moon.
● Jun 18 — 42nd Observation of the 1st USA Woman in Space, Nationwide USA / Global: Celebrating the first American woman to fly in Space, Sally Ride, on Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7 mission in 1983, while USA plans First Woman to the Moon South Pole 2027 via developing Artemis program.
● Jun 18 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
★ Jun 19 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 24th perihelion today.
● Jan 19-22 — National Space Society (NSS), Orlando FL: International Space Development Conference 2025; featured speakers are Chris Ferguson, Hoot Gibson, Tariq Malik, Martine Rothblatt, Bryan Versteeg; at Rosen Centre, US$25-675.
● Jun 20-27 — NASA, Accomack County VA: RockOn! 2025: Hands-on workshop to build a rocket; for college students / faculty; at Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility.
o Jun 22-27 — NASA, SSERVI, ESA, Institut für Planetologie, Universität Münster, The Open University, Münster, Germany: European Lunar Symposium (ELS) 2025.
☾ Jun 23 — Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Moon Orbit: NASA spacecraft reaches 15 full years / enters 16th year in Moon orbit today; launched Jun 18, 2009, arrived at Moon 5 days later.
★ Jun 27 — Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), Sun-Synchronous Orbit: NASA observation satellite investigating the physical conditions of the chromosphere of Sun reaches 12 full reaches / enters 13th year in space, launched 2013.
● Jun 30 — Mars Technology Institute, Online: Preliminary report due, on progress of inventors competing for Mars Against Hunger prize for improvement (whether yield, energy / financial cost, nutritional value, taste) in high-efficiency food production.
o NET Jul — Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Cerro Pachón, Chile: Previously dubbed Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, VCR Observatory team expects System First Light.
★ Jul 2 — Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) P1, Moon Orbit: Craft reaches 14 full years / enters 15th year in Moon orbit today; originally launched with constellation of 5 satellites in 2007 to study Earth magnetosphere, NASA craft collecting data on Moon interaction with Sun; reached Moon 2011.
★ Jul 4 — Juno, Jupiter Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 9th full year at Jupiter today; one-way transmission signal to Earth is 48 minutes, mission extended through September 2025 when potential controlled impact into Jupiter clouds may occur.
★ Jul 13 — Juno, Perijove 74 / 73rd Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 74, its 74th close flyby of Jupiter and 73rd science flyby with instruments turned on.
● Jul 16 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
★ Jul 17 — Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) P2, Moon Orbit: Craft reaches 14 full years / enters 15th year in Moon orbit today; originally launched with constellation of 5 satellites in 2007 to study Earth magnetosphere, NASA craft collecting data on Moon interaction with Sun; reached Moon 2011.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 56th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 49th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 4th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
o Jul 20 — Moon Village Association (MVA), United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: International Moon Day (IMD 2025): One Moon, One Vision, One Future.
● Jul 22-24 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Las Vegas NV: 2025 ASCEND Conference: Building Our Off-World Future.
★ Jul 23 — Chandra X-ray Observatory, HEO: NASA spacecraft in extended mission phase reaches 26th full year / begins 27th year of operations in Space; instruments able to detect X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope; launched 1999.
o Jul 23-27 — European Space Agency, Austrian Research Promotion Agency, et al, Vienna, Austria; Living Planet Symposium 2025; forge partnerships and engage with the space industry, explore NewSpace concepts; at Austria Center Vienna.
● Jul 28 — JHU APL, Laurel MD: Mini-conference for Europa ICONS program; pairing Europa Clipper science team members with undergraduate students for 10-week internship (intern stipend US$12,000).
● Jul 28-31 — American Astronautical Society, Seattle WA: ISS Research and Development Conference.
☆ NET Aug — JUICE, Jupiter Trajectory: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform flyby of Venus this month, arriving at Jupiter in 2031.
★ NET Aug — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 Block 5/ Haven-1, TBD, Cape Canaveral FL: First commercial space station, built by Vast Space, planned for insertion into LEO.
o Aug 4-9 — International Astronomical Union, Buenos Aires, Argentina: IAU Symposium 401: Advancing Reference System, Ephemeris, and Standards; From the Earth and the Moon to Solar System Bodies; at National University of La Plata.
★ Aug 5 — Juno, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft reaches 14 full years in space today, having been launched in 2011 and reaching Jupiter on July 4, 2016; one-way transmission signal to Earth is 48 minutes.
★ Aug 5 — Curiosity, Mars Surface: Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) rover reaches 13 full years / enters 14th year of operations on Mars surface today; launched Nov 26, 2011 – landed Aug 5, 2012 (Pacific Daylight Time).
● Aug 10-14 — American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Boston MA: ASS / AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference; at Hyatt Regency.
● Aug 11-13 — Utah State University, Salt Lake City UT: 39th Annual Small Satellite Conference.
★ Aug 12 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: NASA craft to come within 6.16M km of the Sun, well within the orbit of Mercury and ~7 times closer than any spacecraft has before – reaches 7th full year / enters 8th year in Space today; launched Aug 12, 2018.
● Aug 13-16 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Houston TX: Innovators Symposium & Gala, featuring the Neil Armstrong Award of Excellence.
★ Aug 15 — Juno, Perijove 75 / 74th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 75, its 75th close flyby of Jupiter and 74th science flyby with instruments turned on.
☾ Aug 20 — Chandrayaan-2, Moon Orbit: India orbiter reaches 6th full year / enters 7th year in lunar 100-km polar orbit since reaching Moon in 2019; lander and rover were unsuccessful in lunar landing.
● Aug 20 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
☾ Aug 23 — Chandrayaan-3, Shiv Shakti Point, Moon (69.373°S, 32.319°E): Second annual observation of Vikram lander and Pragyan rover successfully landing on Moon in 2023 and India becoming 4th country to land on Moon, 1st near the Moon South Pole.
★ Aug 30 — Van Allen Probes, LEO: Spacecraft reach 13 full years / begin 14th year in space today, launched 2012; adding to the understanding of Earth radiation belt environment and its variability.
★ NET Sep — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy / Astrobotic Griffin Lander / Payloads TBD, LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Astrobotic Griffin to attempt Nobile Crater / Moon South Pole landing; originally slated to carry with NASA Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) resource mapping mission under US$226.5M Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract.
☆ Sep 6 — X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), ~550-km LEO: JAXA XRISM studying galactic plasma, reaches 2nd full year / enters 3rd year in space, having launched 2023.
● Sep 9-10 — American Astronautical Society, Cleveland OH: Glenn Space Technology Symposium.
o Sep 14-19 — Imperial College London, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, London, UK: 39th International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC): Electric Propulsion, a Gateway to the Cosmos; conference topics include Lessons from BepiColombo and On-Orbit Operations.
o Sep 15-17 — Nice Observatory, Nice, France: Binary Asteroids Meeting VI; discussing binary and multiple systems among the NEO, Hungaria, main-belt, Trojan, Centaur and TNO populations; held at Observatoire de la Côte D’Azur.
● Sep 16-25 — American Astronautical Society, Maui HI: AMOS Conference.
★ Sep 17 — Juno, Perijove 76 / 75th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 76, its 76th close flyby of Jupiter and 75th science flyby with instruments turned on – to be last flyby of planet before controlled impact into Jupiter clouds.
● Sep 17 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
★ Sep 21 — MAVEN, Mars Orbit: NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft reaches 11 full years / enters 12th year of operations in Mars orbit after insertion on this day 2014; continuing to study upper atmosphere.
o Sep 23-25 — Space Science Centre (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change (IPI) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malacca, Malaysia: 9th International Conference on Space Science and Communication (IconSpace 2025).
o Sep 26 — Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) 3rd Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: 1st planetary defense / asteroid deflection test success observed today; DART crashed into minor-planet moon Dimorphos of asteroid Didymos on this day in 2022 shortening Dimorphos’ orbital period.
☆ Sep 28 — Astrosat, 650-km Near Equatorial LEO: ISRO first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory reaches 10th full year / begins its 11th year in space today, launched 2015.
o Sep 29 – Oct 3 — International Astronautical Federation, Space Industry Association of Australia, Australian Space Agency, New South Wales Government, Sydney, Australia: 76th International Astronautical Congress: Sustainable Space: Resilient Earth; >4,500 delegates expected.
o Sep 29 – Oct 3 — International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Space Court Foundation, Sydney, Australia: International Finals of IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition; >100 law schools from five global regions participate; held concurrently with 76th IAC.
● NET Oct — Interstellar Research Group (IRG), Austin TX: 9th Interstellar Symposium (IRG 2025).
● Oct 1 — National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 67th Observation, USA: Nationwide celebrations and educational events occur to observe NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) becoming NASA on this day in 1958.
o Oct 4 — International Observe the Moon Night Organization, Global: International Observe the Moon Night 2025; for observation, appreciation, understanding of the Moon / its connection to planetary science / exploration; 1st quarter Moon is best time due to shallow angle of sunlight that illuminates details.
o Oct 4-10 — World Space Week Association, Global: World Space Week 2025; celebrates international contributions of space science for betterment of the human condition; Oct 4 is 68th observation of 1st Space mission Sputnik One launched by Soviet Union 1957; Oct 10 is 58th observation of Outer Space Treaty going into effect 1967.
o Oct 6-7 — Hub Exhibitions, Dubai, UAE: Space-Comm Expo Dubai 2025: Accelerating the Commercial Future of Space.
☆ Oct 14 — Chinese H-alpha Solar Explorer (CHASE), 517-km SSO: First solar observatory for China known as CHASE or Xihe / 羲和 reaches 4th full year / enters 5th year in space since launching on this day via Long March 2D in 2021.
● Oct 15 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
☆ Oct 17 — INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), LEO: Detecting some of the most energetic radiation in space, ESA, NASA, Roscosmos spacecraft enters 23 full years / enters 24th of operations (despite loss of its thrusters); launched 2002, expected to run out of fuel early 2020s and fall to Earth Feb 2029.
★ Oct 19 — Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), HEO: NASA spacecraft mapping boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space reaches 17 full years / enters 18th year in space; launched on this day 2008.
☆ Oct 19 — ExoMars 2016 Orbiter, Mars Orbit: ESA and Roscosmos spacecraft reaches 9 full years / enters 10th years at Mars, launched 2016; craft continues collecting data on atmosphere, deployed Schiaparelli demonstration lander 19 Oct 2016 (unsuccessful).
● Oct 19-22 — Geological Society of America, San Antonio TX: GSA Connects 2025: From Earth to the Cosmos: Geoscience Beyond Our Planet; looks at planetary bodies in Solar System & beyond, including ISRU uses for future human habitation on other worlds.
☆ Oct 20 — BepiColombo, Mercury Trajectory: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (dubbed Mio ‘waterway or fairway’) reach 7 full years / enter 8th year in space today, launched 2018; expected to reach Mercury polar orbit in Nov 2026 to map planet, investigate magnetosphere.
★ Oct 24 — Mars Odyssey, Mars Orbit: NASA spacecraft reaches 24 full years / begins 25th year in orbit around Mars today, holds record for longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth; launched 2001.
★ Oct 26 — STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) A & B, Heliocentric Orbit: NASA craft imaging Sun and solar phenomena reach 19 full years / enter 20th year in space today; launched 2006.
● Oct 27-29 — American Astronautical Society, Huntsville AL: von Braun Space Exploration Symposium.
o NET Nov — Moon Village Association (MVA), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: MVA 9th Annual Workshop and Symposium.
☆ Nov 2 — International Space Station, ~405-km LEO: Today marks 25 full years / start to 26th year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.
● Nov 12 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
★ Nov 13 — Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE), Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit / Cislunar Space: NASA 12-U CubeSat Capstone acting as a pathfinder for planned International Lunar Gateway reaches 3rd full year / enters 4th year around Moon today since launch in 2022.
☾ Nov 16 — Artemis 1 2nd Observation, USA / Global: As USA and its international partners work toward Artemis 2 crewed mission around the Moon, Space Launch System and Artemis 1 mission is observed today for its successful uncrewed flight Nov 16 – Dec 11, 2022.
★ Nov 20 — Swift, LEO: Observing gamma-ray bursts & their afterglows in gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, optical wavelengths from LEO, multiwavelength craft reaches 21 full years / begins 22nd year of operations in space today, launched in 2004.
o Nov 20 — Shenzhou-1 26th Observation,China / Zhongguo: As China and international partners plan permanently occupied International Lunar Research Station and next-gen rockets for Solar System Complete exploration, observation of 1999 launch of Shenzhou-1, first experimental crewed spacecraft honored today.
☆ Nov 26-28 — Space Faculty, Singapore: Expand Space: A deep tech playground to spark your passion to profession; introducing youth to careers in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, space, robotics.
☾ Dec 1 — Chang’E-5, Mons Rümker, Oceanus Procellarum, Moon (43° N, 51.9° W): CE-5 lander as part of sample return mission reaches 5 full years / enters 6th year on lunar surface, having landed on this day in 2020, with sample return launching from the Moon 2 days later.
☆ Dec 2 — Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), LEO: ESA / NASA craft studying sun, reaches 29 full years / begins 30th year of operations in space today, launched 1995; discovered more than 3,000 comets.
☆ Dec 3 — Hayabusa 2, Asteroid 98943 Torifune Trajectory: JAXA Hayabusa 2 reaches 11 full years / enters 12th full year in space today; launched Dec 3, 2014, returned samples to Earth in 2020, and now in extended mission to flyby asteroid 98943 Torifune in 2026 and rendezvous with 1998 KY26 in 2031.
o Dec 3-4 — UK Space Agency, UK Space Trade Associations, Space Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow, Scotland: Space-Comm Expo 2025: Accelerating the Commercial Future of Space.
☆ Dec 10 — XMM-Newton, Very Eccentric Elliptical LEO: ESA craft studying X-ray emissions, star-forming regions, galaxy clusters, environment of supermassive black holes, mapping dark matter, reaches 26 full years / begins 27th year in space today, launched 1999.
● Dec 10 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Topic TBA.
★ Dec 14 — NEOWISE, LEO: NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft (redubbed Near-Earth Object WISE – NEOWISE) reaches 16 full years / begins 17th year in space; launched 2009, went into hibernation February 17, 2011 and reactivated August 21, 2013.
☾ Dec 14 — Chang’E-3 Lander, Guang Han Gong, Sinus Iridum / Mare Imbrium, 44.12°N 19.51°W, Moon Surface: Spacecraft reaches 12 full years / enters 13th year on Moon surface, landed 2013.
● Dec 15-19 — American Geophysical Union (AGU), New Orleans LA: AGU 2025 Annual Meeting.
☾ Dec 16 — Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter ‘Danuri’, Moon Orbit: KARI first lunar spacecraft Danuri reaches 3rd full year / enters 4th year in lunar orbit today, having launched in 2022.
☆ Dec 19 — Gaia, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA spacecraft reaches 12 full years / enters 13th year in space today; now in extended mission phase working to map more than 1 billion stars; launched in 2013.
☆ Dec 25 — Mars Express, Mars Orbit: ESA spacecraft reaches 22 full years / enters 23rd year in Mars orbit today; will continue to study Mars atmosphere & climate, planet structure, mineralogy, geology, and to search for traces of water; launched June 2, 2003.
☆ Dec 25 — James Webb Space Telescope, Sun–Earth L2: NASA (STSci) / ESA / CSA infrared astronomy telescope reaches 4th full year / enters 5th year in space since launching on this day via Ariane 5 ECA rocket in 2021.
2026
★ NET 2026 — James Webb Space Telescope, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: Planned end to 5-year primary mission; spacecraft expected to operate for at least another 5 years.
☆ NET 2026 — CNSA, Launch Long March 10A / First Test Flight, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): First flight of China Long March 10A rocket, precursor to Long March 10 intended to support crewed / cargo missions to the Moon with 2 launches, one for crew spacecraft Mengzhou and one for lander Lanyue that will rendezvous in lunar orbit; developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) for contractor CASC.
☆ NET 2026 — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan G1, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India plans uncrewed 1st test flight for Gaganyaan, 1st crewed could occur late 2026.
★ NET 2026 — Launch Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Mission 2 & Elytra Dark orbital transfer vehicle, TBD: Firefly Aerospace second lunar lander mission under $112M NASA CLPS to land on lunar far side with NASA payloads (LuSEE-Night telescope, JPL User Terminal (UT), Australia’s Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration, and Research (SPIDER) by Fleet Space Technologies) and commercial payloads; will deploy to lunar orbit ESA Lunar Pathfinder satellite and Elytra Dark for communications relay.
★ NET 2026 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / APEX 1.0 Lunar Lander Mission 1, KSC FL: Lunar lander built by ispace, Draper (mission lead) and Karman Space & Defense under $73M NASA CLPS to land near Schrödinger Basin, Moon South Pole region with NASA payloads (two seismometers, a drill, a probe, a magnetic sounder, LuSEE-Light telescope) and commercial payloads.
☆ NET 2026 — ESA, Launch Soyuz / PLATO, Kourou, French Guiana: European Space Agency PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission to launch to Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point to find / study extrasolar planetary systems, seismic activity in stars.
☆ NET 2026 — JAXA, Launch Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: Japan planning to launch its first Mars mission consisting of sample return probe; to conduct observations of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, collect Phobos sample, return to Earth.
★ NET 2026 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy / Astrobotic Griffin Lander Mission 2, TBD: Astrobotic Griffin planned to carry satellites to cislunar space and take commercial payloads to landing near Moon South Pole.
★ NET Jan — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Intuitive Machines IM-3 Nova-C Lander, LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Under US$77.5M NASA CLPS contract, Intuitive Machines 3rd mission to launch to Reiner Gamma ‘lunar swirl’ 7.5°N, 59.0°W, to deliver 4 payloads (totaling 92 kg): Lunar Vertex, Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE), MoonLIGHT retroreflector (with MPAc = MoonLIGHT Pointing Actuator), Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM) and various private payloads.
● Jan 4-8 — American Astronomical Society, Phoenix AZ: 247th Meeting of the AAS; at Phoenix Convention Center.
● Jan 27 — Apollo 1 59th Observation, Nationwide USA: Increasing space awareness and education, remembrances and events honor three Apollo 1 crew members lost during a launch pad test: Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.
● Jan 28 — Challenger STS-51L 40th Observation, Nationwide USA: Educational and ceremonial events held worldwide to advance space technology / education and honor 7 crew members killed in Shuttle accident 28 January 1986: Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Astronaut Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
● Jan 31 — Explorer 1 68th Observation, Nationwide USA: American Artemis Return to the Moon For Good is underway, Mars attention and planning advancing, Outer Solar System search for life ongoing, and Interstellar craft on outgoing trajectories while first USA satellite launch on this day in 1958 ‘Explorer 1’ is celebrated and remembered.
● Feb 1 — Columbia STS-107 23rd Observation, Nationwide USA: Annual international conferences and events take place to further space exploration efforts in remembrance of Columbia 7 loss: Commander Richard D. Husband, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (the ‘1st Israeli astronaut’) and Astronauts: William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown and Kalpana Chawla (the ‘1st Indian American astronaut’ and ‘1st Indian woman in space’).
★ NET Apr — NASA, Launch SLS / Orion / Artemis 2, LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center FL: Planned 1st fully-crewed Orion Moon flight to last 10-14 days with 3 USA and 1 Canada Astronaut: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen; mission will also deploy numerous CubeSats.
● Apr 10 — Pōwehi Day, Statewide Hawai’i: Recognized proclamation to celebrate the first-ever imaged black hole M87* by Event Horizon Telescope collaboration involving Mauna Kea Observatories, given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi; imaged in April 2017 and released Apr 10, 2019.
o Apr 12 — 65th Commemoration of Human Spaceflight / Cosmonautics Day, Worldwide: Celebrating Yuri Gagarin of Russia, the 1st human to orbit Earth on Vostok 1 spacecraft in 1961; the flight lasted 108 minutes at 27,400 kph and 327 km above Earth.
● Apr 12 — 45th Observation of STS-1 Columbia Flight, Nationwide USA: Commemorations occur today in honor of 1st ever NASA Space Shuttle Columbia carrying John Young and pilot Robert Crippen around Earth on 54.5-hour mission in 1981.
o Apr 12 — 25th Yuri’s Night Celebrations, Global: Yuri’s Night 2026; annual worldwide party to celebrate Yuri Gagarin’s 1st flight into space and promote space exploration.
☆ Apr 24 — Hubble Space Telescope, LEO: Spacecraft with 2.4-meter diameter main telescope begins 37th year in space today, launched Apr 24, 1990; could continue operations until 2040s.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight 2026; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Apr 29 — Tiangong Space Station (TSS), ~390-km LEO: Tianhe, first component of China TSS reaches 5 full years / enters 6th year in Space today, having launched on this day in 2021.
o May 1 — International Space Day 2026, Worldwide: First Friday in May, events and presentations to promote STEM education and inspire people to continue the work of Space explorers; originally began as ‘National Space Day’ in 1997 by Lockheed Martin Corp.
● May 25 — 65th Observation John F. Kennedy 1st Moon Speech, USA / Worldwide: NASA Artemis program to land 1st Woman and Person of Color on Moon is well underway as today is recognized for Kennedy declaring to congress “I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth” (1961).
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 4th full year / starts 5th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
☆ NET Jul — Hayabusa 2Asteroid 98943 Torifune Flyby: JAXA Hayabusa 2 mission to flyby S-type asteroid 98943 Torifune this month and rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031, after returning samples from (162173) Ryugu to Earth in 2020.
★ Jul 5 — Space Age Publishing Company (SPC), Global / Inter-Global: SPC, publisher of Space Calendar and Lunar Enterprise Daily, observes 50 years since inception and looks towards the next 50 years of publishing-broadcasting from Earth, the surface of the Moon, and perhaps far beyond with its affiliated International Lunar Observatory Association and other enterprises.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 57th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 50th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 5th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
● Aug 1-6 — Utah State University, Logan UT: 40th annual Small Satellite Conference.
☆ NET Sep — JUICE, Jupiter Trajectory: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform second flyby of Earth this month, arriving at Jupiter in 2031.
o Oct 5-9 — International Astronautical Federation, Republic of Türkiye, Turkish Space Agency, et al, Antalya, Turkey: 77th International Astronautical Congress; NEST Congress & Exhibition Center.
o Oct 17 — International Observe the Moon Night Organization, Global: International Observe the Moon Night 2026; encouraging observation, appreciation, understanding of the Moon and its connection to planetary science & exploration; 1st quarter Moon is considered the best time to observe the Moon due to shallow angle of sunlight hitting surface and illuminating details.
● Oct 25-30 — American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary Sciences, Spokane WA: AAS DPS 2026 Meeting.
☆ NET Nov — BepiColombo, Hermocentric Orbit Insertion at Mercury, Mercury Orbit: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) expected to reach Mercury, achieve polar orbit and spacecraft separation; will map planet, investigate magnetosphere.
☆ NET Nov — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Chang’E-7, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): CE-7 planned to land at Moon South Pole to survey environment and resources with Relay Satellite, Orbiter, Lander (Rashid-2 from UAE), Rover, Mini-Flying Probe; next, CE-8 could be last robotic mission before landing Humans on the Moon.
☆ Nov 2 — International Space Station, ~405-km LEO: Today marks 26 full years / start to 27th year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.
★ NET Dec — SpaceX, Launch Starship / Venturi Astrolab FLEX LTV, Starbase, Boca Chica TX: Under NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Services contract, and carrying commercial payloads, Astrolab (working with Axiom Space and Odyssey Space Research) full-scale Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover, with payload capacity up to 1,500 kg, aiming to land at 1 of 9 Artemis 3 selected sites and operate on surface for 6 years.
☆ NET Dec — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India planning for 1st crewed flight of Gaganyaan to LEO ~400 km.
● Dec 7-11 — American Geophysical Union (AGU), San Francisco CA: AGU 2026 Annual Meeting.
2027
☆ NET 2027 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-26, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos Luna-Resurs O (Luna-Resurs Orbiter) to launch to polar orbit with 14 instruments for 1 year at 60-80 km altitude for lunar mapping.
● Jan 10-14 — American Astronomical Society, Salt Lake City UT: 249th Meeting of the AAS; at Salt Palace Convention Center.
● Jan 27 — Apollo 1 60th Observation, Nationwide USA: Increasing space awareness and education, remembrances and events honor three Apollo 1 crew members lost during a launch pad test: Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.
● Jan 28 — Challenger STS-51L 41st Observation, Nationwide USA: Educational and ceremonial events held worldwide to advance space technology / education and honor 7 crew members killed in Shuttle accident 28 January 1986: Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Astronaut Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
● Jan 31 — Explorer 1 69th Observation, Nationwide USA: American Artemis Return to the Moon For Good is underway, Mars attention and planning advancing, Outer Solar System search for life ongoing, and Interstellar craft on outgoing trajectories while first USA satellite launch on this day in 1958 ‘Explorer 1’ is celebrated and remembered.
● Feb 1 — Columbia STS-107 24th Observation, Nationwide USA: Annual international conferences and events take place to further space exploration efforts in remembrance of Columbia 7 loss: Commander Richard D. Husband, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (the ‘1st Israeli astronaut’) and Astronauts: William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown and Kalpana Chawla (the ‘1st Indian American astronaut’ and ‘1st Indian woman in space’).
☆ Mar 1 — 241st Galactic Tick Day, Milky Way Galaxy: Highlighting Galaxy awareness by celebrating the Solar System traveling around Milky Way Galaxy Center every ~225 million Earth years, one Galactic Tick happens every 633.7 days; first Tick Day was one Tick after October 2nd, 1608 when the first telescope patent was filed.
● Apr 10 — Pōwehi Day, Statewide Hawai’i: Recognized proclamation to celebrate the first-ever imaged black hole M87* by Event Horizon Telescope collaboration involving Mauna Kea Observatories, given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi; imaged in April 2017 and released Apr 10, 2019.
☆ Apr 24 — Hubble Space Telescope, LEO: Spacecraft with 2.4-meter diameter main telescope begins 38th year in space today, launched Apr 24, 1990; could continue operations until 2040s.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Apr 29 — Tiangong Space Station (TSS), ~390-km LEO: Tianhe, first component of China TSS reaches 6 full years / enters 7th year in Space today, having launched on this day in 2021.
★ NET Jun — NASA, Launch SLS / Orion / Artemis 3 / Humans to Moon South Pole, LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center FL: Projected for 1st crewed lunar landing since 1972, planning to land 1st Woman & 1st Person of Color on the Moon, and 1st crew to Moon South Pole; 30-day mission to consist of 4 crew at launch, 2 to land on surface for 6.5 days using Human Landing System.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 5th full year / starts 6th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 58th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 51st Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 6th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
o NET Aug 1 — International Astronomical Union, Rome, Italy: XXXIII (33rd) IAU General Assembly.
★ Aug 12 — Lucy, 3548 Eurybates / Queta Satellite Flyby, Jupiter Greek camp at L4: NASA mission to encounter 11 asteroids including a main belt and 7 Jupiter Trojans to come within 1,000 km of 64-km diameter 3548 Eurybates asteroid and its 1-km diameter satellite Queta.
★ Sep 15 — Lucy, 15094 Polymele, Jupiter Greek camp at L4: NASA mission to encounter 11 asteroids including a main belt and 7 Jupiter Trojans to come within 415 km of 21-km diameter 15094 Polymele asteroid which may be a collisional fragment and rich in organic tholin compounds.
★ NET Oct 3 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Intuitive Machines IM-4 Lunar Lander, LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Under US$116.9M NASA CLPS award, Intuitive Machines 4th mission to deliver 6 NASA payloads totaling ~79 kg, including carry ESA Lunar ice drill ProSEED / PROSPECT sensor array, magnetometer, radiometer to investigate surface composition, instrument to measure how lander affects regolith, retroreflectors as location marker, a yeast experiment; payload capacity for commercial customers is available.
★ Oct 16 — Lucy, Inner Main Asteroid Belt: NASA craft reaches 6 full years in Space, about mid-way through planned 12-year mission to encounter 8 different asteroids.
☆ Nov 2 — International Space Station, ~405-km LEO: Today marks 27 full years / start to 28th year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.
● Dec 13-17 — American Geophysical Union (AGU), Washington DC: AGU 2027 Annual Meeting.
☆ NET Dec — Hayabusa 2, Earth Flyby: JAXA Hayabusa 2 mission to perform first flyby Earth today on way to rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031, after returning samples from (162173) Ryugu to Earth in 2020 and flying by asteroid 98943 Torifune in 2026.
2028
☆ NET 2028 — International Space Station, ~405-km LEO: Standard funding of International Space Station may end this year from partner Russia; mission extension to at least 2030 from other partners is expected; future goals and scientific, engineering, utilization, education potential to be determined.
☆ NET 2028 — CNSA, Launch Long March 5 / Chang’E-8, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): CE-8 planned to land at Moon South Pole and conduct in-situ resource utilization experiments with lander, Pakistan SUPARCO rover, robot for supporting international lunar base buildout.
☆ NET 2028 — ISRO, Launch Vehicle TBD / Chandrayaan-4, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Planned launch of Chandrayaan-4 mission for Moon landing and sample return up to 3 kg (6.6 lb) from near Statio Shiv Shakti.
★ NET 2028 — Firefly Aerospace, Launch Vehicle TBD / Blue Ghost Mission 3, TBD: Under $179.6M NASA CLPS award, to take 6 payloads to Gruithuisen Domes, 36.3° N, 319.8° E, for radio-wave observations, neutron measurements, photovoltaic investigation, regolith sampling, Heimdall camera imaging, Lunar-VISE exploration.
☆ NET 2028 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-27, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos Luna-Resurs 1 lander expected to launch to Moon South Pole to target frozen volatiles in sub surface.
☆ NET 2028 — ISRO, Launch Vehicle TBD / Launch Bharatiya Antariksh Space Station Module 1, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Planned launch of first module for space station Bharatiya Antariksh Station, BAS-1.
● Jan 27 — Apollo 1 61st Observation, Nationwide USA: Increasing space awareness and education, remembrances and events honor three Apollo 1 crew members lost during a launch pad test: Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.
● Jan 28 — Challenger STS-51L 42ndObservation, Nationwide USA: Educational and ceremonial events held worldwide to advance space technology / education and honor 7 crew members killed in Shuttle accident 28 January 1986: Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Astronaut Christa McAuliffe (the 1st ‘Teacher in Space’), Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnick and Ronald E. McNair, along with Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis.
● Jan 31 — Explorer 1 70th Observation, Nationwide USA: American Artemis Return to the Moon For Good is underway, Mars attention and planning advancing, Outer Solar System search for life ongoing, and Interstellar craft on continued trajectories while first USA satellite launch on this day in 1958 ‘Explorer 1’ is celebrated and remembered.
● Feb 1 — Columbia STS-107 25th Observation, Nationwide USA: Annual international conferences and events take place to further space exploration efforts in remembrance of Columbia 7 loss: Commander Richard D. Husband, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (the ‘1st Israeli astronaut’) and Astronauts: William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown and Kalpana Chawla (the ‘1st Indian American astronaut’ and ‘1st Indian woman in space’).
☆ Mar 29 — ISRO, Launch Shukrayaan-1 Mission, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India: Planning to launch India first mission to Venus to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus; planned to enter Venusian orbit 19 July 2028.
☆ NET Apr — BepiColombo, Mercury Orbit: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter nominal mission ends, 5.82 Mercury years after orbit insertion; potential extended mission and plans TBD.
● Apr 10 — Pōwehi Day, Statewide Hawai’i: Recognized proclamation to celebrate the first-ever imaged black hole M87* by Event Horizon Telescope collaboration involving Mauna Kea Observatories, given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi; imaged in April 2017 and released Apr 10, 2019.
★ Apr 18 — Lucy, 11351 Leucus Flyby, Jupiter Greek camp at L4: NASA mission to encounter 11 asteroids including a main belt and 7 Jupiter Trojans to come within 1,000 km of 34-km diameter 11351 Leucus asteroid.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Apr 29 — Tiangong Space Station (TSS), ~390-km LEO: Tianhe, first component of China TSS reaches 7 full years / enters 8th year in Space today, having launched on this day in 2021.
★ NET Jun — NASA, Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO Surveyor) to be read for launch no later than this date.
☆ NET Jun — Hayabusa 2, Earth Flyby: JAXA Hayabusa 2 mission to perform second flyby Earth today on way to rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031, after returning samples from (162173) Ryugu to Earth in 2020 and flying by asteroid 98943 Torifune in 2026.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 6th full year / starts 7th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
● Jun 11-15 — American Astronomical Society, Madison WI: 252nd Meeting of the AAS; at Monona Terrace.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 59th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 52nd Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 7th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
☆ NET Aug — Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), Return to Earth: Japan mission with Phobos sample to begin return to Earth Aug 2028, arriving by July 2029 to deliver Sample Return Capsule.
★ NET Sep — NASA, Launch SLS / Orion / Artemis 4, LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center FL: Artemis SLS on 4th flight / 3rd crewed mission lasting 30-days.
☆ Nov 2 — International Space Station, ~405-km LEO: Today marks 28 full years / start to 29th year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.
★ Nov 11 — Lucy, 21900 Orus Flyby, Jupiter Greek camp at L4: NASA mission to encounter 11 asteroids including a main belt and 7 Jupiter Trojans to come within 1,000 km of 51-km diameter 21900 Orus asteroid (which may be a possible binary).
☆ Nov 24 — 242nd Galactic Tick Day, Milky Way Galaxy: Highlighting Galaxy awareness by celebrating the Solar System traveling around Milky Way Galaxy Center every ~225 million Earth years, one Galactic Tick happens every 633.7 days; first Tick Day was one Tick after October 2nd, 1608 when the first telescope patent was filed.
☆ NET Dec — ISRO, Launch Vehicle TBD / Chandrayaan-5 “Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX)”, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Planned launch of Chandrayaan-5 joint India Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to explore the permanently shadowed regions near Moon South Pole, land on elevated ridge of Shackleton crater ~89.45°S, 222.85°E.
● Dec 11-15 — American Geophysical Union (AGU), San Diego CA: AGU 2028 Annual Meeting.
2029
☆ NET 2029 — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Human Moon Mission, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Potential date for India 1st Human mission to cislunar space via Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.3.
☆ NET 2029 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-28, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos Luna-Resurs 2 expected to launch to Moon South Pole for return sample mission.
☆ NET 2029 — JAXA, Launch HRV (HTV Return Vehicle) / Human Mission, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan: Japan plans to launch JAXA Astronauts to space this year.
☆ NET 2029 — CNSA, Launch Jupiter Spacecraft, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): China planning to launch first probe to Jupiter this year.
☆ NET 2029 — Euclid, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: Scheduled end of European Space Agency Euclid mission to measure accelerated expansion of Universe, aid in understanding of dark energy / dark matter; future plans to be determined.
★ NET 2029 — Psyche Mission, 16 Psyche Orbit: NASA, JPL Caltech mission to investigate all-metal asteroid Psyche to insert itself into asteroid orbit today if launching 2026.
☆ NET Jan — JUICE, Jupiter Trajectory: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform 3rd and final flyby of Earth this month, arriving at Jupiter in 2031.
☆ NET Feb — INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), LEO: ESA / NASA / Roscosmos INTEGRAL space telescope will burn up upon Earth atmosphere reentry this month due to natural orbit decay after running out of fuel reserves / end of science mission in early 2020s; launched Oct 2002.
☆ NET Apr — BepiColombo, Mercury Orbit: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter extended mission ends, 9.98 Mercury years after orbit insertion; potential extension of mission or de-orbit plans TBD.
● Apr 10 — Pōwehi Day, Statewide Hawai’i: Recognized proclamation to celebrate the first-ever imaged black hole M87* by Event Horizon Telescope collaboration involving Mauna Kea Observatories, given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi; imaged in April 2017 and released Apr 10, 2019.
☆ Apr 13 — Asteroid 99942 Apophis, Earth Flyby: On this day, which happens to be a Friday, 370-meter diameter asteroid previously known as 2004 MN4 will narrowly miss Earth by about 30,000 km.
★ Apr 21 — OSIRIS-APEX, Asteroid 99942 Apophis Rendezvous: OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer is planned rendezvous with and orbit asteroid Apophis for 9 months following the asteroid’s close Earth approach which occurred April 13, 2029; craft previously known as Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) which returned samples from asteroid Bennu to Earth on Sep 24, 2023.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 7th full year / starts 8th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
☆ NET Jul — Chang’E-2, Deep Space: Spacecraft expected to come within 7M km of Earth this year after reaching 300M km apogee.
☆ NET Jul — Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), Earth Flyby: Japan mission with Phobos sample to arrive at Earth this month to deliver Sample Return Capsule.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 60th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 53rd Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 8th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
☆ NET Oct — JUICE, Jupiter Trajectory: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform flyby of asteroid 223 Rosa this month, arriving at Jupiter in 2031.
☆ Nov 2 — International Space Station, ~405-km LEO: Today marks 29 full years / start to 30th year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.
2030
☾ NET 2030 — ESA, Moon Surface: Europe plans to build a sustainable Moon Village and work toward Mars missions.
★ NET 2030 — NASA, Launch Human Mars Mission, TBD: Projected date / decade for NASA to send Humans to Mars.
☆ NET 2030 — CNSA, Launch Long March 10 / Human Moon Missions, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Tentative date for China crewed spaceflight program (China Manned Space Agency) to have first of its multiple human Moon missions using 2 launches, one for crew spacecraft Mengzhou and one for lander Lanyue that will rendezvous in lunar orbit; developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) for contractor CASC.
☆ NET 2030 — CNSA, Launch Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return Mission, TBD, China: China expects to launch sample return mission to Mars by this date.
☆ NET 2030 — CNSA, Launch Tianwen-4 Jupiter System Mission, TBD, China: China expects to launch mission to Jovian system by this date.
☆ NET 2030 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Angara A5 / Luna-29, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos Luna-Resurs 3 Moon South Pole lander and rover mission goals / landing site TBD, will support future Human base.
☆ NET 2030 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Millimetron (Spektr-M), TBD: Russia to launch space observatory with a diameter of 10 meters to Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point to study black holes, formation of stars, planets, galaxies.
● Jan 9-14 — American Astronomical Society, National Harbor MD: 255th Meeting of the AAS; at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
● Apr 10 — Pōwehi Day, Statewide Hawai’i: Recognized proclamation to celebrate the first-ever imaged black hole M87* by Event Horizon Telescope collaboration involving Mauna Kea Observatories, given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi; imaged in April 2017 and released Apr 10, 2019.
★ Apr 11 — Europa Clipper, Jupiter Orbit Insertion: If launched 10 October 2024, Europa Clipper mission to insert into Jupiter orbit on this day to study Galileo moon Europa through a series of 44 close flybys (25 to 2,700 km).
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 8th full year / starts 9th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 61st Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 54th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 9th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
★ Dec 25 — Lucy, Earth Flyby / Gravity Assist, Jupiter Trojan Camp Trajectory: NASA mission to encounter 11 asteroids including a main belt and 7 Jupiter Trojans to perform Earth flyby / gravity assist today coming within 660 km after reaching Jupiter orbit and returning to the vicinity of the Earth.
2031
★ NET 2031 — ISEE-3 (International Sun-Earth Explorer-3), Heliocentric Orbit: Craft presumably in safe mode, traveling around Sun & predicted to return to vicinity of Earth this year – may be able to reestablish contact; launched August 12, 1978.
☆ NET 2031 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-30, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos lander to deliver a reusable cargo delivery spacecraft with supplies for human missions.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 9th full year / starts 10th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
☆ NET Jul — Hayabusa 2, Asteroid 1998 KY26 Rendezvous: JAXA Hayabusa 2 mission to rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26, after returning samples from (162173) Ryugu to Earth in 2020 and flying by asteroid 98943 Torifune in 2026.
☆ NET Jul — JUICE, Jupiter Insertion: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to reach Jupiter this month if launched April 2023; will perform a flyby of Ganymede 7.5-hours before Jupiter insertion; will spend ~3.5 years studying Jupiter atmosphere and magnetosphere, moons Ganymede, Europa, Callisto and Io with 10 state-of-the-art instruments plus one experiment that uses spacecraft telecommunication system with Earth-based instruments.
☆ Aug 20 — 243rd Galactic Tick Day, Milky Way Galaxy: Highlighting Galaxy awareness by celebrating the Solar System traveling around Milky Way Galaxy Center every ~225 million Earth years, one Galactic Tick happens every 633.7 days; first Tick Day was one Tick after October 2nd, 1608 when the first telescope patent was filed.
2032
☆ NET 2032 — KARI, Launch Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 / Moon Lander & Rover, Naro Space Center, South Jeolla, South Korea: South Korea to launch Moon lander & rover to look for signs of rare minerals on Moon surface.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ NET Jul — JUICE, Jupiter Orbit: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform flyby of moon Europa this month.
☆ Nov 12 — Transit of Mercury: Mercury to pass directly between Earth and Sun; observers see distant planet as small dot gliding slowly across face of Sun; starts Nov 12 at 20:41 HST, ends 01:07 Nov 13.
2033
☆ NET 2033 — CNSA, Launch Long March 9 Test Flight, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): Tentative date for China to test launch its next-gen rocket intended to carry people and cargo to the Moon.
☆ NET 2033 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-31, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos lander to deliver a heavy lunar rover weighing up to 5,000 kg, capable of mining / extracting lunar resources.
☆ NET 2033 — Government of the Republic of Türkiye, Roketsan Inc., Ankara, Türkiye: Türkiye hopes to have space-launch capabilities and more than 20 operational satellites by this date.
★ Mar 3 — Lucy, 617 Patroclus-Menoetius Flyby, Jupiter Trojan camp at L5: NASA mission to come within 1,000 km of 113-km diameter 617 Patroclus and 104-km diameter Menoetius, p-type binary asteroids; Lucy will be in a stable, 6-year orbit between the L4 and L5 — mission extension may be granted.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ Jun 5 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Today marks 10th full year / starts 11th year of continuous Human occupation of TSS; Shenzhou 14 three-member crew launched on this day in 2022, beginning occupation.
2034
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ NET Dec — JUICE, Ganymede Orbit: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to achieve Ganymede elliptical orbit insertion this month.
2035
☆ NET 2035 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-32, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos to deliver heavy modules weighing up to 5,000 kg for the construction of the International Lunar Research Station.
☆ NET 2035 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-33, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos orbiter to be used for communication and navigation for Human Moon Missions and lunar base.
☆ NET 2035 — China National Space Agency, Moon Surface: International Lunar Research Station ILRS-5 mission; final mission before human occupation of ILRS will include Lunar-based astronomy and Earth observation capabilities.
☆ NET 2035 — JUICE, Ganymede Orbit: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to achieve Ganymede 500-km circular orbit insertion this year.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
☆ NET Dec — JUICE, Ganymede Orbit: ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is planned to be deorbited and impact Ganymede at the end of 2035, having reached Jupiter in 2031.
2036
☾ NET 2036 — China National Space Agency, Moon Surface: International Lunar Research Station; planned to be permanently inhabited by this date.
☆ Apr 13 — Asteroid 99942 Apophis, Earth Flyby: Asteroid, 370 meters in diameter & previously known as 2004 MN4, will make 2nd pass by Earth missing by about 50M km.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
2040
☆ NET 2040 — Hubble Space Telescope, LEO: Veteran spacecraft with 2.4-meter mirror could continue operations into this decade and beyond; launched April 24, 1990.
★ NET 2040 — New Horizons, Interstellar Space: Spacecraft could continue to operate well into this decade; is predicted to reach 125 AU from Sun and enter interstellar space this year traveling at 46,600 kph; launched Jan 19, 2006.
☆ NET 2040 — ISRO, Launch Vehicle TBD / Moon-orbiting Space Station, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: Possibly similar to Earth-orbit Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS).
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
2045
☆ NET 2045 — KARI, Launch Mars Lander & Rover, Naro Space Center, South Jeolla, South Korea: South Korea hopes to launch and land Mars spacecraft to surface of Red Planet this year.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
2046
☆ NET 2046 — CNSA, Launch Uranus Spacecraft, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): China planning to launch first mission to Uranus this year.
o Apr 24 — People’s Republic of China: National Day of Space Flight; commemorating the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970.
2060
☆ NET 2060 — EC2LIPSE, Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange Point: ISU project EC2LIPSE to explore climate change, create solar radiation management roadmap in Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point with solar shield.
2061
☆ Jul 27 — 1P / Halley’s Comet: Return of Halley’s Comet / closest approach to Sun, 0.59278 AU; comet is ~5×8 kilometers with albedo of 0.03.
2069
★ NET 2069 — NASA, Launch Interstellar Mission to Alpha Centauri, TBD: Planning to send spacecraft to Alpha Centauri system 4.4 LY away to search for life, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the first Moon landing; aiming for craft to travel at a minimum of 10% of the speed of light on a 44-year trip, reaching nearest neighbor Star system by 2113.
2078
★ NET 2078 — Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), LEO: Orbiting ultraviolet space telescope will burn up upon atmospheric reentry this year – 65 years after being decommissioned in 2013.
2084
☆ Nov 10 — Transit of Earth, Moon, Phobos: As seen from the slopes of Elysium Mons on Mars, the Earth, the Moon and Mars moon Phobos to pass directly between Mars and Sun; observers see Moon(s) and Earth as small dots gliding slowly across face of Sun.
2117
☆ NET 2117 — UAE Space Agency, Mars Surface: UAE plans to have city on Mars fit for habitation completed by this year, first development started in 2020 with launch of Hope satellite to Mars.
☆ Dec 11 — Transit of Venus: Venus to pass directly between Earth and Sun; observers see distant planet as small dot gliding slowly across face of Sun.
2125
☆ Dec 8 — Transit of Venus: Venus to pass directly between Earth and Sun; observers see distant planet as small dot gliding slowly across face of Sun.
2123
☾ Jun 9 — Total Eclipse of Moon: Long-duration total lunar eclipse of 106.1 minutes.
2168
☆ Jul 16 — Eclipse of Sun: Longest solar eclipse of the Century at 7 minutes 29 seconds; may be longest eclipse during 10,000-year period from 4000 BC to AD 6000.
2287
☆ Aug 29 — Earth and Mars: Planets reach record-breaking distance for opposition at ~55.69 million km, will appear extra bright in sky.
2391
☆ May 11 — Partial Transit of Mercury: Mercury to pass directly between Earth and Sun; observers see distant planet as small dot gliding slowly across face of Sun.
2600
☆ May 5 — Eclipse of Sun: First total solar eclipse visible in London since 2151.
2650
☆ Sep 3 — Earth / Mars Minimum Distance Reached: Distance between Earth & Mars reaches new minimum at 55,651,582.118 km on this date during perihelion.
2729
☆ Sep 8 — Earth / Mars Minimum Distance Reached: Distance between Earth & Mars reaches new minimum at 55,651,033.122 km on this date during perihelion.
3000
☆ NET Jan — Gamma Cephei Becomes ‘North Star’: Due to precession of the equinoxes, also known as axial precession or lunisolar precession, positions of stars slowly change in both equatorial coordinates & ecliptic longitude; this year Gamma Cephei will enter the North Star position.
42013
★ NET 42013 — Voyager 1, Interstellar Space: NASA spacecraft predicted to come within 1.7 LY of star AC+79 3888, also known as Gliese 445, in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper).
★ NET 42013 — Voyager 2, Interstellar Space: NASA spacecraft predicted to come within 11.7 LY (9.7 trillion miles) of the star Ross 248, also known as HH Andromedae or Gliese 905, located 10.3 LY from Earth.
8401976
★ NET May — Laser Geodynamics Satellite 1 (LAGEOS-1), MEO: LAGEOS-1 laser ranging satellite mission, carrying plaque designed by Carl Sagan, predicted to reenter Earth atmosphere close to this date; launched May 4, 1976 to 5,900-km altitude orbit.
1100000000
☆ ~1.1 Billion Years — Solar System: Solar luminosity estimated to increase by 10% by this date, causing all oceans to boil with 70° C mean surface temperature unless Earth orbit is altered by massive astronomical engineering initiative.
2000000000
☆ ~2 Billion Years — Milky Way Galaxy and Large Magellanic Cloud: Observations of LMC suggest it is tightly bound to MWG due to a dark matter halo nearly twice as massive as previously thought implying it will collide at ~2 billion years.
4500000000 (~22 Galactic Years)
☆ 4.5 Billion Years — Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies: Andromeda approaching MWG at 110 km/sec, these 2 largest galaxies in Local Group predicted to swoop past each other about this time when Andromeda will become tidally stretched and Milky Way becomes warped.
7000000000 (~30 Galactic Years)
☆ 7 Billion Years — Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies: The 2 central supermassive black holes of MWG and Andromeda converge near center of newly forming ‘Milkomeda’ or ‘Milkdromeda’ Galaxy.
10300000000 (~45.7 Galactic Years)
☆ 10.3 Billion Years — Milkomeda / Milkdromeda Galaxy: Merger of MWG and Andromeda predicted to be nearly complete around this date forming a giant elliptical, large lenticular or super spiral galaxy; simulations indicate Solar System might be brought near center & ejected entirely out of Galaxy.