The biggest upcoming space missions 2027 will bring are already under construction right now — not in a lab somewhere, but on the pad at Kennedy Space Center. Rocket booster segments for the actual Moon landing mission were being stacked in August 2026. Here’s what’s genuinely coming, and what we’re building into Stargaze XR to bring it into AR.

Artemis III — The Real Moon Landing

Artemis II already flew in April 2026, sending four astronauts around the Moon and safely home — the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years. But Artemis III is the mission everyone is actually waiting for: the first crewed Moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA has already named the crew — Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio — for a mission currently targeted for 2027. The mission profile is genuinely complex: astronauts will launch aboard Orion, then rendezvous and dock separately with lunar landers being developed by both Blue Origin and SpaceX, testing an entirely new generation of Moon-landing hardware before the actual descent.

As of August 2026, solid rocket booster segments for the Artemis III SLS rocket were already being stacked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center — this mission is visibly, physically under construction right now.

Europa Clipper — Searching for Life at Jupiter

NASA’s Europa Clipper is on its way to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, believed to hold a liquid ocean beneath its frozen surface — one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for conditions that could support life. The spacecraft performs a critical Earth gravity-assist flyby on 1 December 2026, using our planet’s gravity to slingshot itself onward toward Jupiter.

BepiColombo — Finally Reaching Mercury

A joint European and Japanese mission, BepiColombo is set to enter orbit around Mercury on 21 November 2026 — becoming only the third spacecraft in history to study the solar system’s innermost, least-explored planet up close.

The Global Race Back to the Moon

Artemis isn’t happening in isolation. China’s Chang’e-7 lunar mission is targeting the Moon’s south pole in the same general window, part of a broader international push — alongside multiple NASA-contracted commercial lunar landers — to establish a sustained presence at the lunar poles, where scientists believe water ice may be locked in permanently shadowed craters.

What This Means for Stargaze XR

We are building the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System, and the Artemis crew into Stargaze XR’s new Missions section — and as Artemis III’s landing architecture becomes public, that will be the centrepiece. This is the mission that will finally put boots back on the lunar surface, and we want you to be able to explore it in AR as it happens, not years afterward.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the biggest upcoming space missions 2027 will bring?

Artemis III is the most significant upcoming space mission targeted for 2027 — the first crewed Moon landing since Apollo 17, using new lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX.

Who is on the Artemis III crew?

NASA has named Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio as the Artemis III crew, targeting a 2027 lunar landing mission.

Did Artemis II already happen?

Yes — Artemis II launched in April 2026 and successfully completed the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years, paving the way for Artemis III’s landing attempt.

What is Europa Clipper searching for?

Europa Clipper is investigating whether Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has conditions capable of supporting life, focused on the liquid ocean believed to exist beneath its frozen surface.

Will these missions be in Stargaze XR?

Yes — the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System and Artemis crew are being built into Stargaze XR’s upcoming Missions section, with more missions planned as they develop.

Mission facts sourced from NASA Spaceflight and NASA official updates — spaceflightnow.com and NASA NSSDC upcoming missions archive