NASA Artemis 2 lunar test and ESA Hera asteroid mission set for 2026

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission completed a ten‑day crewed lunar flyby in April 2026, marking the first human flight beyond low‑Earth orbit since 1972. The flight tested the Orion spacecraft’s systems and repeated an Apollo‑style orbit around the Moon, though officials noted the mission was a cautious, low‑risk demonstration rather than a bold step forward.

The European Space Agency’s Hera probe is scheduled to launch for a November 2026 encounter with the binary asteroid system Didymos‑Dimorphos. Hera will gather detailed data on the composition, density, size and shape of Dimorphos after NASA’s DART spacecraft deliberately struck it in 2022, providing the first documented test of asteroid deflection. Scientists highlighted the technical challenges of altering an asteroid’s trajectory without fragmenting it, and the mission will inform future efforts such as the 2029 Rames/Apophis observations.