Space Missions of 2026 - We Study The World

2026 Picture Feature

The year 2026 produced historic photographs from crewed lunar exploration and new space observatories. This gallery emphasizes what was happening during 2026 while the existing Spacecraft and Missions page remains available for the longer history of exploration.

Verified Current Photography

Every photograph below was created or published for a documented 2026 event. Open the official source beneath each picture for its date, full caption, photographer credit, and usage information.

NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket transiting the Sun during its August 2026 launch — **Roman Telescope Launch**NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched from Kennedy Space Center on August 30, 2026.
Official source and credit

Moonlit Earth photographed by the Artemis II crew during their 2026 journey — **Moonlit Earth From Artemis II**An Artemis II astronaut photographed Earth while traveling toward the Moon.
Official source and credit

Earth appearing near the lunar horizon in an Artemis II photograph from April 2026 — **Earthset Beyond the Moon**The Artemis II crew captured Earthset while traveling around the Moon.
Official source and credit

NASA Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft rolling toward the launch pad in January 2026 — **Artemis II Rollout**NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft moved to the launch pad before the Artemis II mission.
Official source and credit

Technicians installing a memory card on NASA's Roman Space Telescope in July 2026 — **Roman’s Names to Space**Technicians installed a memory card carrying more than 1.35 million submitted names.
Official source and credit

Artemis II

Artemis II carried astronauts around the Moon and returned new views of Earth, the lunar surface, and the experience of human deep-space flight.

Roman Space Telescope

Roman is designed to survey large areas of the infrared sky, study dark energy and dark matter, and search for planets beyond our Solar System.

Image Credits

NASA images should retain the displayed NASA and photographer credits. Individual source pages identify any third-party material or special restrictions.