Space Calendar

INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) Begins Next Year in Space
2028-10-17 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Detecting some of the most energetic radiation in space, ESA, NASA, Roscosmos spacecraft surpasses another year of operations in space, despite loss of its thrusters; launched 2002, expected to run out of fuel early 2020s and fall to Earth Feb 2029.

Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) Begins Next Year in Space
2028-10-19 | High Earth Orbit (HEO)
NASA spacecraft mapping boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space surpasses another full year in space; launched on this day 2008.

ExoMars 2016 Orbiter Begins Next Year in Mars Orbit
2028-10-19 | Mars Orbit
European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos spacecraft surpasses another full year at Mars, launched 2016; craft continues collecting data on atmosphere, deployed Schiaparelli demonstration lander 19 Oct 2016 (unsuccessful).

BepiColombo (Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter) Begins Next Year in Space
2028-10-20 | Mercury Trajectory
European Space Agency / JAXA Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (dubbed Mio ‘waterway or fairway’) surpasses another full year in space today, launched 2018; expected to reach Mercury polar orbit in Nov 2026 to map planet, investigate magnetosphere.

Mars Odyssey Begins Next Year in Mars Orbit
2028-10-24 | Mars Orbit
NASA spacecraft surpasses another full year in orbit around Mars today, holds record for longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth; launched 2001.

Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO A & B) Mark Another Year in Space
2028-10-26 | Heliocentric Orbit
NASA craft imaging Sun and solar phenomena surpasses another full year in space today; launched 2006.

International Space Station Begins Next Year of Continuous Human Occupation
2028-11-02 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Today marks another full year of continuous Human occupation of ISS; first component Zarya launched Nov 20, 1998, occupation began Nov 2, 2000.

Lucy Spacecraft to Fly by Asteroid 21900 Orus
2028-11-11 | Jupiter Greek camp at Lagrangian point L4
NASA Lucy 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) today.

Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) Begins Next Year in Space
2028-11-13 | Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit / Cislunar Space
NASA 12-U CubeSat Capstone acting as a pathfinder for planned International Lunar Gateway surpasses another year around Moon today; launched in 2022.

Swift Spacecraft Begins Next Year in Space
2028-11-20 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Observing gamma-ray bursts & their afterglows in gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, optical wavelengths from LEO, multiwavelength craft surpasses another year of operations in space today, launched in 2004.

242nd Galactic Tick Day
2028-11-24
☆ 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.

Chang’E-5 Begins Next Year on Moon
2028-12-01 | Statio Tianchuan, 43° N 51.9° W, Moon Surface
China National Space Administration (CNSA) Chang’E-5 lander at Statio Tianchuan “ship sailing in the Milky Way”, Mons Rümker, Oceanus Procellarum, Moon (43° N, 51.9° W), surpasses another full year on lunar surface today; landed on this day in 2020, with sample return launching from the Moon 2 days later.

NET Dec — Launch GSLV MK3 / Chandrayaan-5 Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX)
2028-12-01 | Satish Dhawan Space Center, ~14°N, Sriharikota, India
NET Dec — Planned launch of Chandrayaan-5 joint ISRO and JAXA mission to explore permanently shadowed regions near Moon South Pole, landing on elevated ridge of Shackleton Crater ~89.45°S, 222.85°E.

NET Dec 2028 — Launch Falcon Heavy / Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover
2028-12-01 | Kennedy Space Center FL, USA
Mars launch window is open December 2028 into early 2029. Rosalind Franklin Rover will launch to search for life on Mars, NASA announced on 4.16.26. The Rosalind Franklin is part of Europe’s ExoMars exploration program, which was established about 15 years ago with NASA as a key partner. NASA-ESA partnership for this mission was renewed in 2024.
Falcon Heavy history and projected launches:
• 1st launch, in 2018, propelled a Tesla Roadster and astronaut mannequin to a heliocentric orbit. (SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also leads Tesla.)
• Europa Clipper launched in 2024 to the Jupiter moon.
• ViaSat-3 to GEO in April 2026.
• Astrobotic Technologies’ Griffin-1 to the Moon NET July 2026.
• Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launching NET October 2026.
• Astrobotic Technologies’ Griffin-2 to the Moon NET January 2027.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Begins Next Year in Space
2028-12-02 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
European Space Agency (ESA) / National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) craft studying sun, surpasses another full year of operations in space today, launched 1995; discovered more than 3,000 comets.

Hayabusa 2 Begins Next Year in Space
2028-12-03 | Asteroid 98943 Torifune Trajectory
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa surpasses another 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.

XMM-Newton Begins Next Year in Space
2028-12-10 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
European Space Agency (ESA) craft in Very Eccentric Elliptical LEO studying X-ray emissions, star-forming regions, galaxy clusters, environment of supermassive black holes, mapping dark matter, surpasses next full year in space today, launched 1999.

AGU 2028 Annual Meeting
2028-12-11 - 2028-12-15 | San Diego CA, USA
Save the date for future Annual Meetings:

December 11-15, 2028 | San Diego

Chang’E-3 Lander Begins Next Year on Moon
2028-12-14 | Guang Han Gong, 44.12°N 19.51°W, Moon Surface
China National Space Administration (CNSA) spacecraft at Guang Han Gong “Moon Palace”, Sinus Iridum / Mare Imbrium, 44.12°N 19.51°W, surpasses another full year on Moon surface, landed 2013.

WISE / NEOWISE Begins Next Year in Space
2028-12-14 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft (redubbed Near-Earth Object WISE – NEOWISE) surpasses another full year in space today; launched 2009, went into hibernation February 17, 2011 and reactivated August 21, 2013.

Gaia Spacecraft Begins Next Year in Space
2028-12-19 | 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.

Mars Express Begins Next Year in Mars Orbit
2028-12-25 | 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.

James Webb Space Telescope Begins Next Year in Space
2028-12-25 | 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.

NET 2029 — Launch Long March 10 / Human Moon Landing
2029-01-01 | Wenchang Space Launch Center, ~19°N, Hainan Island, China
NET 2029 — Tentative date for China’s crewed spaceflight program to have first of its multiple human Moon missions to the Moon South Pole region 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 2029 — End of Euclid Nominal Mission
2029-01-01 | Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point
NET 2029 — Scheduled end of European Space Agency Euclid mission which is measuring accelerated expansion of Universe, aiding in understanding of dark energy / dark matter; future plans / extensions to be determined.

NET 2029 — Launch Luna-28
2029-01-01 | Vostochny Cosmodrome, ~52°N, Russia
NET 2029 — Roscosmos hoping to launch Launch Luna-28 (Luna-Resurs 2) to the Moon South Pole region for sample return mission.

NET 2029 — Psyche Spacecraft to Insert Into Asteroid 16 Psyche Orbit
2029-01-01 | Main Asteroid Belt
NET 2029 — NASA and JPL Caltech Psyche Mission to investigate all-metal asteroid Psyche to insert itself into asteroid orbit around beginning on this year if launching 2026.

NET 2029 — Launch HRV (HTV Return Vehicle) / Human Mission
2029-01-01 | Tanegashima Space Center, ~30°N, Japan
NET 2029 — Japan plans to launch JAXA Astronauts to space this year on indigenous HTV Return Vehicle.

NET 2029 — Launch Tianwen-3 to Jupiter
2029-01-01 | Wenchang Space Launch Center, ~19°N, Hainan Island, China
NET 2029 — China planning to launch its first probe to Jupiter this year with the Tianwen-3.

NET Jan — Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) Performs 3rd Flyby of Earth
2029-01-01 | Jupiter Trajectory
NET Jan — ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) expected to perform 3rd and final flyby of Earth this month, arriving at Jupiter in 2031.
