Downrange - Space Calendar

● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events

☾ = Moon activity, ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).

2024

★ Nov 25 — Juno, Perijove 67 / 66th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 67, its 67th close flyby of Jupiter and 66th science flyby with instruments turned on.

● Nov 25 — NASA, Online: Applications due for Community College Aerospace Scholars.

o Nov 25-28 — Australia In Space Magazine, et al, Perth, Australia; Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference; 80+ speakers from 20 countries; tech tours Nov 25, conference Nov 26 (1-day Student Pass Aus$199), Exhibition Nov 26-28; Aus$699.

o Nov 26-29 — JAXA, Australia Space Agency, et al, Perth, Australia; 30th Annual Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum; Free-Aus$180.

☆ Nov 27-29 — United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Kenya Space Agency (KSA), Nairobi, Kenya: Space for Women Expert Meeting: Integrating women in space activities and solutions.

★ NET Dec — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Hakuto-R Mission 2, TBD Florida: Launch of ispace Japan second lunar lander mission of Resilience lander, with ~5-kg micro-rover and other payloads, to attempt soft landing on Moon surface.

★ NET Dec — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Blue Ghost, LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Firefly Aerospace first lunar mission under US$93.3M NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services to attempt Blue Ghost landing in lava plains of Mare Crisium at 18.56°N, 61.81°E carrying 10 NASA payloads.

☆ NET Dec — ISRO, Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan G2, Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India: India planning for 1st uncrewed flight of Gaganyaan on a short orbital test flight.

☆ NET Dec — National Aerospace Services Company (NASCOM), Launch experimental space rocket / TBD Payload, Etlaq Spaceport, Duqm, Oman: Omani first vehicle rated for space to attempt launch before end of year.

☾ 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 4 full years / enters 5th year on lunar surface, having landed on this day in 2020, with sample return launching from the Moon 2 days later.

● Dec 1 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Online: Nominations due today for 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award for K-12 teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math; 23:59 EST.

★ 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; has discovered more than 3,000 comets.

☆ Dec 2 — BepiColombo, 5th Mercury Flyby / Gravity Assist, Mercury Flyby: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (dubbed Mio ‘waterway or fairway’) to perform its fifth Mercury flyby today on its planned schedule to enter Mercury orbit December 5, 2025 after being launched 2018.

o Dec 2-3 — Moon Village Association, Luxembourg: 8th Global Moon Village Workshop & Symposium 2024.

o Dec 2-4 — Astronomical Society of India, Bengaluru, India: Symposium 001: Astronomy from Moon in the era of Indian lunar missions; at Raman Research Institute.

o Dec 2-5 — Interstellar Research Group, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Space Agency, Breakthrough Initiatives, Initiative for Interstellar Studies, Luxembourg: Interstellar Research Group: First European Interstellar Symposium – Building Our Home Among the Stars.

☆ Dec 3 — ESA, Arianespace, Launch Vega C / Copernicus Sentinel-1 C, ELA-4, Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana: VV25 mission to place Earth observation satellite into SSO at altitude ~700 km; spacecraft separation 1 hour, 43 minutes after lift-off; 21:20 UTC.

o Dec 3 — Luxembourg Space Agency, Luxembourg: NewSpace Europe 2024.

o Dec 3-5 — UNOOSA, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Peru, Bonn, Germany: World Space Forum 2024.

o Dec 4-5 — ESA, Luxembourg: Space for Inspiration.

☆ Dec 5 — BepiColombo, Fifth Mercury Flyby / Gravity Assist, Mercury Flyby: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (dubbed Mio ‘waterway or fairway’) to perform its fifth Mercury flyby today on its planned schedule to enter Mercury orbit December 5, 2025 after being launched 2018.

o Dec 8-12 — International Lunar Observatory Association, Chinese Society of Astronautics, National Astronomical Observatories of China, Wenchang, Hainan, China: Galaxy Forum China 2024 Hainan: International Human Moon Landings, Astronomy from the Moon, and 21st Century Solar System Complete; at Wyndham Grand Plaza Royale Hotel, Wenchang.

● Dec 9-13 — American Geophysical Union (AGU), Washington DC: AGU 2024 Annual Meeting; convenes 25,000+ attendees from 100+ countries.

☆ 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 25 full years / begins 26th year in space today, launched 1999.

☆ Dec 10-11 — UAE Space Agency, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Space Debate.

☆ Dec 10-13 — International Academy of Astronautics, IAU, et al, Haikou, China / Online; IPSPACE 2024, International Symposium on the Peaceful Use of Space Technology; focus is on global peace, collaboration, and innovation; theme is peaceful use of space technology on human health with the slogan One Space, One Home.

★ Dec 13 — Lucy, Inner Main Asteroid Belt: NASA spacecraft to make second Earth flyby today.

★ Dec 14 — NEOWISE, LEO: NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft (redubbed Near-Earth Object WISE – NEOWISE) reaches 15 full years / begins 16th year in space; launched 2009.

☾ Dec 14 — Chang’E-3 Lander, Guang Han Gong, Sinus Iridum / Mare Imbrium, 44.12°N 19.51°W, Moon Surface: Spacecraft reaches 11 full years / enters 12th year on Moon surface, landed 2013.

☾ Dec 16 — Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter ‘Danuri’, Moon Orbit: KARI first lunar spacecraft Danuri reaches 2nd full year / enters 3rd year in lunar orbit today.

● Dec 16 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Boeing, RTX, Lockheed Martin, et al, Orlando FL: Early registration due today for AIAA SciTech Forum; event is Jan 6-10, 2025, US$79-1,599.

o Dec 17-19 — Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University, Budhera, India: 4th Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa Association on Gravity, Astrophysics and Cosmology (BRICS-AGAC) 2024 Symposium on Gravity, Astrophysics and Cosmology; program includes Early Universe, Dark Matter, Late-Time Universe, Black Holes, et al.

☆ Dec 19 — Gaia, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA spacecraft reaches 11 full years / enters 12th year in space today; now in extended mission phase working to map more than 1 billion stars; launched in 2013.

o Dec 19-29 — Space2Sea, Crown and Summit, Financial Times, Zero-G, ThinkTank, Peak Design, SanDisk, et al, Luxembourg: Luxury Voyage To The Last Frontier – Antarctica; with William Shatner, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Curry, Scott Kelly, Céline Cousteau.

★ Dec 24 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 22nd perihelion today (first close approach).

☆ Dec 25 — James Webb Space Telescope, Sun–Earth L2: NASA (STSci) / ESA / CSA infrared astronomy telescope reaches 3rd full year / enters 4th year in space since launching on this day via Ariane 5 ECA rocket in 2021.

★ Dec 28 — Juno, Perijove 68 / 67th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 68, its 68th close flyby of Jupiter and 67th science flyby with instruments turned on.

☆ NET Dec 31 — INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), LEO: Detecting some of the most energetic radiation in Space, ESA, NASA, RSA spacecraft science operations extended to end of this year; expected to run out of fuel mid 2020s and fall to Earth Feb 2029.

2025

☆ NET 2025 — Voyager 1 & 2, Interstellar Space: The farthest spacecraft from Earth, NASA Voyagers communications / data return are expected to cease this year due to radioactive power sources becoming unable to provide enough electrical energy for critical subsystems while heading further into Interstellar Space; launched 1977.

★ NET 2025 — NASA, Solar Cruiser Technology Demonstration Mission of Opportunity; 1653 m² solar sail system to be ready for flight by this date.

★ NET 2025 — Deep Blue Aerospace, Launch Nebula-1 / 3.5×4 meter crew module, Ejin Banner Spaceport, China: Planned full orbital flight and recovery for suborbital space tourism.

☆ NET 2025 — CNSA, Launch Vehicle TBD (Long March 6A) / G60 Qianfan Xingzuo F1, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China: Launch expected to carry first 18 of China G60 “Thousand Sails Constellation” of more than 12,000 satellites, aiming to provide global internet access and national data security.

★ NET Jan — 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 mission to launch to Shackleton Connecting Ridge / Moon South Pole region, 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, and Spaceflight Sherpa Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), carry Lunar Trailblazer as secondary payload; launch window closes January 2025.

☆ NET Jan — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / Venus probe, Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Independent mission to Venus developed by Rocket Lab and MIT to send tiny probe flying in atmosphere for 5 minutes at 48-60 km altitude.

● Jan 1 — Explore Mars Inc., Washington DC: early registration ends for The 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit; to be held May 28-29 at Jack Morton Auditorium.

☾ Jan 3 — Chang’E-4 Lander and Yutu-2 Rover, Statio Tianhe (Milky Way Base), Von Kármán crater, Moon South Pole–Aitken Basin: Spacecraft reach 6 full years / enter 7th year on Moon far side, landed 2019.

● Jan 6-10 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Boeing, RTX, Lockheed Martin, et al, Orlando FL: AIAA SciTech Forum: world’s largest event for aerospace research / development / technology, 6,000+ attendees, 2,920 technical presentations, 1,100 government / corporate / academic institutions, 744 technical sessions, 81 exhibitors, 45 countries; at Hyatt Regency, US$79-1,599.

☆ Jan 9 — BepiColombo, Sixth Mercury Flyby / Gravity Assist, Mercury Flyby: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (dubbed Mio ‘waterway or fairway’) to perform its sixth Mercury flyby today on its planned schedule to enter Mercury orbit December 5, 2025 after being launched 2018.

● Jan 12-16 — American Astronomical Society, National Harbor MD: 245th Meeting of the AAS; at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

☾ Jan 19 — Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), Shioli Crater, Moon (13.31°S, 25.25°E): First annual observation of JAXA lunar landing Moon near side equatorial region in 2024 and Japan becoming 5th country to land on Moon.

● Jan 19-23 — American Astronautical Society (AAS), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Kaua’i HI / Online: 2025 AAS / AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting; Lihue Royal Sonesta Kaua’i Resort.

● Jan 27 — Apollo 1 58th 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 39th 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 28-30 — SpaceCom, NASA, Orlando FL: Global Commercial Space Conference & Expo, 51st Space Congress, Space Mobility Conference, GSA Spaceport Summit; 5,000+ attendees, 250+ Exhibiting Companies, 80+ Countries, 4 conference tracks: Space Exploration, On-Orbit Logistics, Emerging Technologies, Commercial Space Infrastructure; US$345-1,465.

● Jan 28-30 — Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Online / Houston TX: Itokawa and the Dawn of Asteroidal Sample Return Workshop; focus on Itokawa samples, Hayabusa mission, asteroid-meteorite connections, et al, with presentations, panels, lab tours.

★ Jan 30 — Juno, Perijove 69 / 68th Science Flyby, Jupiter Orbit: NASA craft to perform Jupiter flyby during Perijove 69, its 69th close flyby of Jupiter and 68th science flyby with instruments turned on.

● Jan 31 — Explorer 1 67th 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.

● Jan 31 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation, Online: Application due for first Mary W. Jackson Scholarship, awarding $10,000 to an undergraduate aerospace student.

● Jan 31 – Feb 5 — American Astronautical Society (AAS) Rocky Mountain Section, Breckinridge CO / Online: 47th Annual AAS Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference; exhibition booth space available, at Beaver Run Resort & Conference Center, US$225-780.

★ NET Feb — 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.

☆ NET Feb — 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 Feb — ArianeGroup, Arianespace, et al, Launch Ariane 6 / TBD commercial payload, ELA4, India: first commercial payload

● Feb 1 — Columbia STS-107 22nd 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’).

★ 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 12 — Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington DC: 27th Annual Commercial Space Conference; theme 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.

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.

● Feb 26-27 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Houston TX: ASCEND x Texas; focus on collaborations: political, strategic, acquisitional, mission-driven; at South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center, US$199-449.

o Feb 26-27 — Singapore Space & Technology Limited, Singapore: Global Space Technology Convention & Exhibition (GSTCE) 2025; 17th edition has focus on AI and its shaping of space and technology; at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, SGD 1,299-1,799.

★ 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 to be launched aboard inaugural New Glenn.

★ 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 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 4-5 — International Academy of Astronautics, University of Texas at Austin, et al, Austin TX / Virtual: 11th Space Traffic Management Conference: From the Ground Up and Back; at University of Texas.

● Mar 10-14 — LPI, USRA, Woodlands TX / Virtual: 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC25).

● Mar 19-21 — American Astronautical Society, TBD: AAS Goddard Space Science Symposium: Space 2025.

★ Mar 22 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 23rd perihelion today.

● Mar 27-28 — International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Washington DC: North American Oral Rounds of IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition.

o Mar 31 — Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Cerro Pachón, Chile: Previously dubbed Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, VCR Observatory team expects System First Light.

★ 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 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 — 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.

★ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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 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 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 28-29 — Explore Mars Inc., Washington DC: The 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit; objective of H2M2 is to advance the goal of a sustainable & permanent human presence on the Moon in the 2020s and on Mars in the 2030s; at Jack Morton Auditorium.

● NET Jun — American Astronomical Society, Anchorage AK: 246th Meeting of the AAS; at Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.

☆ 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 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 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 female 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 flight in 2012 aboard Shenzhou 9, while nation plans for 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 2026 via developing Artemis program.

★ Jun 19 — Parker Solar Probe, Heliocentric Orbit: Spacecraft reaches 24th perihelion today.

● Jun 19-22 — National Space Society, Orlando FL: 43rd annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC 2025); at Rosen Center.

● Jun 20-27 — NASA, Accomack County VA: RockOn! 2025: Hands-on workshop to build a rocket; Jun 20-25, with expected launch Jun 26, back-up date Jun 27; for college students / faculty; at Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility.

☾ 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.

★ 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 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.

● Jul 22-24 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Las Vegas NV: 2025 ASCEND Conference.

★ 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.

☆ 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; launch cost ~US$52M.

● Aug 2-7 — Utah State University, Logan UT: 39th annual Small Satellite Conference.

★ 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 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 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 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 — 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; and carrying numerous CubeSats.

★ 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 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.

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.

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; expected to convene >4,500 delegates to International Convention Centre.

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 regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific) participate; held concurrently with 76th International Astronautical Congress.

● 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; 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.

o Oct 4-10 — World Space Week Association, Global: World Space Week 2025; to celebrate international contributions of space science and technology to the 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.

☆ 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 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.

☾ 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 5 — 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 and achieve polar orbit and spacecraft separation; will map planet, investigate magnetosphere.

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 5 / Chang’E-7, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19° N): CE-7 planned to land at Moon South Pole with Relay Satellite, Orbiter, Lander (Rashid-2 from UAE), Rover, Mini-Flying Probe; CE-8 could be last robotic mission before landing Humans on the Moon.

☆ 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 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy / Astrobotic Griffin Lander, TBD: Astrobotic Griffin planned to carry satellites to cislunar space and take commercial payloads to landing near Moon South Pole.

★ NET 2026 — Firefly Aerospace, Launch Alpha Rocket / NOAA QuickSounder, SLC-2, Vandenberg SFB CA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration environmental satellite with Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder instrument developed by Southwest Research Institute as first project of NOAA Near Earth Orbit Network program; 2nd Alpha launch for NASA.

☆ 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 for at least 6 years.

☆ 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.

● 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’).

☆ Mar 14 — BepiColombo, Mercury Orbit: European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) begins final science orbit of Mercury, 1.13 Mercury years after orbit insertion; potential extended mission and plans TBD.

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 — Hayabusa2, Main Asteroid Belt: In extended mission phase, JAXA Hayabusa2 to fly by asteroid 2001 CC21 and remain on path toward July 2031 rendezvous of asteroid 1998 KY26; returned samples to Earth from 162173 Ryugu on Dec 6, 2020; launched Dec 3, 2014.

★ NET Jul — 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.

★ 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.

★ NET Sep — NASA, Launch SLS / Orion / Artemis 3, LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center FL: Artemis SLS on 3rd flight / 2nd crewed mission lasting 30-days.

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.

☆ 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.

● Dec 7-11 — American Geophysical Union (AGU), San Francisco CA: AGU 2026 Annual Meeting.

2027

★ NET 2027 — NASA, Launch SLS / Orion / Artemis 4, LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center FL: Artemis SLS on 4th flight / 3rd crewed mission lasting 30-days.

★ NET 2027 — 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 ESA-designed subsurface drill / analysis machine, 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.

☆ 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.

☆ NET 2027 — Roscosmos State Corporation, TBD, Russia: Roscosmos planning to launch its first satellite to LEO to monitor space debris.

● 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 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.

☆ May 1 — 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

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 with lander, rover, robot planned to land on Moon / test technologies for supporting international lunar base build out and ISRU.

☆ 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; expected to carry ESA Lunar ice drill ProSEED and PROSPECT sensor array.

☆ NET 2028 — 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.

● 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 outgoing 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..

★ 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.

☆ May 1 — 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.

★ NET June — NASA, Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO Surveyor) to be read for launch no later than this date.

☆ 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.

☾ 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.

☆ 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.

● 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 2029 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Venera-D, TBD: Roscosmos to launch Venera-D mission to Venus, consisting of orbiter and lander.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

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 — PLATO, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) 6-year mission to find / study extrasolar planetary systems, seismic activity in stars ends this year; mission extension / plans to be determined.

☆ 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.

★ 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 26 — 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 — Hayabusa2, Main Asteroid Belt: JAXA Hayabusa2 in extended mission phase planned to rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26 this month; returned samples to Earth from 162173 Ryugu on Dec 6, 2020; launched Dec 3, 2014.

☆ 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 — 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 2 — 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.

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 — Roscosmos State Corporation, 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 — Roscosmos State Corporation, China National Space Agency, Moon Surface: International Lunar Research Station planned to be inhabited by human occupants 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.

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, and plans for 2024 completion of Mars simulation city in Dubai desert.

☆ 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.