Space Calendar

13th Anniversary of Gaia Spacecraft Launch
2026-12-19 | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point
ESA spacecraft surpasses another full year in space today; now in extended mission phase working to map more than 1 billion stars; launched in 2013.

December Solstice
2026-12-21 | Worldwide
10:49 HST (00:49 UTC); the Sun reaches the point where it is farthest South of the celestial equator, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year (opposite in Southern Hemisphere).

Cold Moon
2026-12-23 | Moon Orbit
25:29 HST // 01:29 UTC on Dec 24.

5th Anniversary of James Webb Space Telescope Launch
2026-12-25 | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point
NASA (STSci) / ESA / CSA-ASC infrared astronomy telescope surpasses next full year in space since launching on this day via Ariane 5 ECA rocket in 2021.

23 Years at Mars: Mars Express
2026-12-25 | Mars Orbit
ESA spacecraft surpasses next full 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 and arrived at Mars in Dec 2003.

NET 2027 — Launch Neutron / NZSA Venus Mission
2027-01-01 | Rocket Lab LC-3, ~38°N, Wallops Island VA, USA
Independent mission to Venus developed by Rocket Lab and MIT, NZSA Venus Mission is a small direct Venus entry probe with a single 1 kg low-mass, low-cost autofluorescing nephelometer riding on a satellite bus based on the Photon Upper stage of the Electron rocket. The probe mission will spend approximately 5 minutes in the Venus cloud layers, 48-60 km above the surface, collecting in situ measurements to search for organic molecules in cloud particles and constrain particle composition.

NET Q1 — Launch Falcon 9 Block 5 / Haven-1
2027-01-01 | Cape Canaveral SFS FL, USA
NET Q1 2027 — First commercial space station, built by Vast Space, planned for insertion into LEO.

NET Jan — Launch Ariane 6-2 / PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO)
2027-01-01 | Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, BP 726 97387, French Guiana
ESA plans to launch Ariane 6-2 with PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) spacecraft with array of 26 cameras to Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point to look for signs of planets in habitable zones of stars.

NET 2027 — Launch Luna-26
2027-01-01 | Vostochny Cosmodrome, ~52°N, Russia
NET 2027 — Roscosmos State Corporation, Launch Luna-26, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia: Roscosmos hopes to launch the Luna-Resurs O (Luna-Resurs Orbiter) to Moon polar orbit with 14 instruments for 1 year at 60-80 km altitude for lunar mapping.

NET 2027 — Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) / Chandrayaan-4
2027-01-01 | Satish Dhawan Space Center, ~14°N, Sriharikota, India
NET 2027 — ISRO to launch its Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) with Chandrayaan-4 lunar lander from 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 2027 — Launch Long March 5 / Xuntian Telescope
2027-01-01 | Wenchang Space Launch Center, ~19°N, Hainan Island, China
NET 2027 — CNSA to launch Long March 5 with Xuntian space telescope from 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.

NET 2027 — Launch Falcon 9 / APEX 1.0 Lunar Lander Mission 1
2027-01-01 | SLC-39A, ~29°N, Kennedy Space Center FL, USA
SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 with APEX 1.0 Lunar Lander Mission 1. 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 Q1 2027 - Launch LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) / Gaganyaan G4
2027-01-01 | Satish Dhawan Space Center, ~14°N, Sriharikota, India
First crewed test flight to an orbit of 400 km of the Gaganyaan programme, with launch planned for NET Q1 2027.

8th Anniversary of Chang’E-4 Lander and Yutu-2 Rover Landing on Moon Far Side
2027-01-03 | Statio Tianhe (Milky Way Base), 45.44°S 177.59°E, Moon Surface
Spacecraft reach 8 full years / enter 9th year on Moon far side, landed 2019 -the first farside landing ever.

249th Meeting of the AAS
2027-01-10 - 2027-01-14 | Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City UT, USA, 100 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT, 84101, United States
At Salt Palace Convention Center.

2027 AIAA SciTech Forum
2027-01-11 - 2027-01-15 | Orlando FL, USA
AIAA SciTech Forum—the premier aerospace R&D event of the year exploring the science, technologies, and capabilities that are transforming aerospace. Expecting 6,000+ attendees from 46+ countries. At Hyatt Regency Orlando.

3rd Anniversary of Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) Moon Landing
2027-01-19 | Shioli Crater, 13.31°S 25.25°E, Moon Surface
Third annual observation of JAXA lunar landing Moon near side equatorial region in 2024 and Japan becoming 5th country to successfully land on Moon.

Apollo 1, 60th Observation
2027-01-27 | Nationwide USA
Increasing space awareness and education, remembrances and events honor three Apollo 1 crew members lost in 1967 during a launch pad test: Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.

Challenger STS-51L, 41st Observation
2027-01-28 | 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.

Explorer 1, 69th Observation
2027-01-31 | 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.

Columbia STS-107, 24th Observation
2027-02-01 | Nationwide USA
Annual international conferences and events take place to further space exploration efforts in remembrance of Columbia 7 loss in 2003: 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’).

Lunar New Year
2027-02-06 | China (Zhongguo) / Worldwide
Lunar New Year 2027 Spring Festival marks the Year of the Goat.

6 Years at Mars: Hope Orbiter
2027-02-09 | Mars Orbit
UAE Hope Orbiter, studying Mars atmosphere and climate, reaches 6 full years in Mars orbit today; launched July 19, 2020 on JAXA H2A rocket, arrived at Mars on this day 2021.

6 Years at Mars: Tianwen-1 Orbiter
2027-02-10 | Mars Orbit
China Tianwen-1 orbiter reaches 6 full years 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.

5th Anniversary of Mars Perseverance Rover Landing on Mars
2027-02-18 | Mars Surface
Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover reaches 5 full years on Mars surface having landed in Jezero Crater on this day in 2021; it carried Ingenuity helicopter – the first craft to successfully complete powered flights off-Earth.

3rd Anniversary: Intuitive Machines IM-1 Moon Landing
2027-02-22 | Near Malapert A Crater, 80.13°S 1.44°E, Moon Surface
Third annual observation of 1st successful commercial lunar landing on Moon by Intuitive Machines and its IM-1 Nova-C Lander “Odysseus”. This mission also marks the USA first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
IM-1 lander carried 6 NASA and 6 independent payloads to surface, landing near Malapert A Crater (80.13° S, 1.44°E):
NASA payloads:
SCALPSS (Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies)
ROLSES (Radio-wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the Photoelectron Sheath)
NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing)
RFMG (Radio Frequency Mass Gauge)
LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array)
LN-1 (Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator)
Independent payloads:
Eagle Cam (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
International Lunar Observatory Association (ILO-X) camera system
Lone Star Data Holdings data demonstration
Omni Heat Infinity (Columbia Sportswear) thermal insulation
Jeff Koons: Moon Phases
Galactic Legacy Labs: Lunaprise

241st Galactic Tick Day
2027-03-01
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 March 2027 / NLT June 2027 — Launch SLS / Orion for Artemis 3 - Human Moon Landing Precursor
2027-03-01 | SLC-39B, ~29°N, Kennedy Space Center FL, USA
Crew of 4 to Low Earth Orbit to test docking of Orion craft with separately launched prototype lunar landing systems from SpaceX and / or Blue Origin. Astronauts will then transfer over to the lander(s) to check life-support systems. Possible testing also of Axiom lunar spacesuits including EVA.

13th Annual Space Traffic Conference
2027-03-03 - 2027-03-04 | TBD
With theme “Turning Conjunctions Into Coordination”. Abstracts of up to 500 words will be accepted and must include the precise title of the paper, the topic area of interest, the author’s full name and affiliation, and complete contact information including an email address. The language of the conference is English. All abstracts must follow the ST Conference paper guidelines and the abstract template will be made available on the conference website. Details are forthcoming.

58th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC)
2027-03-15 - 2027-03-19 | Online
LPSC is a defining event in planetary research, bringing together a diverse group of international experts in a truly collaborative environment, both online and in-person. The conference location will be announced at a later date. For 58 years, LPSC has been convening the lunar and planetary science community to showcase the latest science, research, and discoveries in the field. Submit an indication of interest to receive timely updates and additional information about the conference.
