内容来源：https://www.geekwire.com/2025/year-in-space-moon-missions-2026/

内容总结：

2026年太空探索前瞻：载人绕月任务领衔，商业航天持续升温

随着2025年接近尾声，全球太空探索领域正将目光聚焦于即将到来的2026年。一系列里程碑任务，特别是美国国家航空航天局（NASA）时隔半个多世纪的载人重返月球计划，有望将公众对太空的关注度推升至“阿波罗时代”以来的新高。

载人绕月任务即将重启
NASA的“阿尔忒弥斯2号”任务无疑是2026年最受瞩目的太空事件。该任务计划于2026年2月至4月期间，搭载三名美国宇航员和一名加拿大宇航员，乘坐“猎户座”飞船，由太空发射系统火箭送入太空，执行绕月飞行。这将是自1972年“阿波罗17号”任务以来，人类首次超越近地轨道、前往深空。NASA新任局长贾里德·艾萨克曼近期公开表达了对此次任务的期待，并视其为任内首要关注事项。此次任务的成功将为后续的“阿尔忒弥斯3号”载人登月计划铺平道路。

商业航天力量深度参与月球探索
重返月球不仅是国家项目，也日益成为商业航天的舞台。总部位于华盛顿州肯特市的蓝色起源公司计划在2026年发射其“蓝月”马克1号无人着陆器，为NASA运送科学设备至月球南极，并为2030年执行载人登月任务的马克2号着陆器进行技术验证。此外，总部位于西雅图的Interlune公司也计划在2026年将其首个氦-3勘探仪器送上月球表面，寻找这种可用于核聚变或量子计算的稀有资源。

回顾2025：商业航天与科研取得关键进展
过去一年，太空领域已取得多项突破：

1. 蓝色起源进入轨道发射时代：其“新格伦”重型火箭在2025年成功完成两次轨道级发射，并首次实现海上回收。其亚轨道“新谢泼德”火箭则完成了七次载人飞行。
2. 亚马逊卫星互联网投入运营：其名为“亚马逊Leo”的近地轨道宽带卫星网络开始部署，终端已交付早期客户，预计2026年将加速推广。
3. 鲁宾天文台开启巡天：在智利投入运行的这一重大天文设施已发布首批图像，华盛顿大学的研究团队在该项目中发挥了关键作用。
4. 轨道数据中心实现突破：总部位于雷德蒙德的Starcloud公司宣称在太空中成功训练了人工智能模型，朝着建设轨道数据中心网络迈出一步。
5. 星舰测试历经波折后取得进展：SpaceX的“星舰”在2025年上半年经历三次测试失败后，于下半年连续完成两次成功试飞，目前正在开发升级版本。

展望2026：多元任务与行业趋势并进
除月球任务外，2026年还有以下重点领域值得关注：

• 西雅图地区航天企业密集发射：多家本地公司计划进行重要任务，包括斯托克空间公司的“新星”火箭首飞、门户空间系统公司的“星爆”轨道飞行器首秀，以及海星空间公司演示其“水獭”航天器的在轨服务能力。
• “金穹”防御系统带动产业机遇：美国拟议的“金穹”导弹防御系统已吸引多家专注于在轨机动、数据处理等能力的太空企业参与。格雷维蒂克斯公司正为美国太空军建造轨道载体平台。
• NASA面临资金与领导力考验：在新局长领导下，NASA如何在预算受限的情况下推进其雄心勃勃的月球登陆目标，将是贯穿全年的关注焦点。
• 天象观测：2026年3月3日，美国境内可观测到月全食；8月12日的日全食带将经过格陵兰、冰岛和西班牙。

总体而言，2026年将是国家航天机构与商业公司共同推进月球探索、关键技术验证进入密集期的一年，全球太空活动预计将空前活跃。

中文翻译：

曾几何时，登月任务仿佛是历史书中的篇章而非现实动态，但即将展开的绕月之旅有望掀起自阿波罗时代以来前所未有的关注热潮。美国宇航局的"阿尔忒弥斯2号"任务计划搭载四名宇航员进行绕月飞行，为未来的登月任务预热，这将成为2026年航天领域的焦点事件。在经历动荡一年后于本月执掌NASA的局长贾里德·艾萨克曼表示，这已列入他必看清单的首位。

"这怎能不令人心潮澎湃？"他上周在CNBC节目中表示，"我们将再次派遣美国宇航员绕月飞行，这是半个世纪以来的首次突破……距离我们重新实现美国宇航员绕月飞行的目标，可能仅剩数周，最多不过一两个月时间。"

太平洋西北地区在这场重返月球行动中扮演着关键角色。例如，L3Harris科技公司位于华盛顿州雷德蒙德的团队为阿尔忒弥斯2号的"猎户座"载人飞船研制了推进器。而阿尔忒弥斯2号也并非唯一与西雅图地区相关的月球任务——总部位于肯特市的杰夫·贝佐斯蓝色起源太空公司，计划在2026年将无人驾驶的"蓝月MK1"着陆器送上月球表面，助力NASA筹备未来的月球探索任务。

蓝色起源月球业务总监保罗·布劳尔近期在领英发文称："我们正迈出帮助全人类开拓月球疆域的第一步。"2026年还可能见证总部位于西雅图的Interlune公司向月球表面发射首台勘探设备，搜寻氦-3的踪迹。这种稀有物质将被该公司带回地球，用于核聚变反应堆或量子计算机领域。

值此2025年收官之际，让我们共同回顾过去一年的五大航天里程碑事件，并展望来年值得关注的五大发展趋势。

2025年航天回顾

蓝色起源实现轨道级飞行：历经十年研发，蓝色起源于1月首次发射了轨道级"新格伦"火箭，成功将其"蓝环"太空机动平台的测试设备送入轨道。11月的第二次发射将NASA的"Escapade"探测器送往火星，并首次实现"新格伦"助推器的海上回收。在亚轨道领域，蓝色起源的"新谢泼德"项目完成了七次载人飞行， Notable passengers included Lauren Sanchez, who became Bezos’ wife two months after her flight; Justin Sun, the crypto entrepreneur who paid $28 million for his space ticket; and Michaela Benthaus, the first wheelchair user to fly to space.

亚马逊卫星网络投入运营：亚马逊天基宽带互联网服务的首批运营卫星于4月升空，该网络在11月从"柯伊伯计划"更名为"亚马逊低轨星座"。终端设备已向早期客户发货启动预览计划，预计2026年将加速推广。与此同时，SpaceX的星链网络持续扩张，逾9300颗卫星为全球超900万用户提供高速互联网服务。

鲁宾天文台发布首批影像：十五年前，微软创始人比尔·盖茨与查尔斯·西蒙尼捐赠3000万美元支持智利巨型巡天望远镜建设。今年6月，鲁宾天文台终以群星璀璨的首批图像惊艳亮相，西蒙尼亲临现场见证。华盛顿大学的研究人员在这项耗资8亿美元的项目中发挥了关键作用。

轨道数据中心实现突破：总部位于雷德蒙德的Starcloud公司于11月将英伟达GPU芯片送入轨道，数周后宣布完成全球首次太空人工智能模型训练。这标志着该公司建设轨道数据中心网络迈出重要一步。包括贝佐斯、OpenAI的山姆·奥特曼、SpaceX的埃隆·马斯克及谷歌的桑达尔·皮查伊在内的科技巨头，都将轨道数据中心视为满足地球AI处理资源需求激增的解决方案。有分析认为，这一趋势正推动SpaceX计划在2026年上市。

SpaceX星舰经历跌宕起伏：从轨道数据中心到登月乃至火星移民，SpaceX的诸多宏图都取决于"星舰"超级火箭的成功研发。该火箭对Starcloud及西雅图太空旅行企业Orbite等众多初创公司的商业模式也至关重要。2025年上半年三次星舰试飞均告失利，但下半年两次试飞取得圆满成功。目前SpaceX正在研发升级版星舰，同时处理11月加压测试中助推器异常事件的后续工作。

2026年航天展望

阿尔忒弥斯2号载人绕月：这将是自1972年阿波罗17号任务以来，人类首次突破地球轨道。按当前计划，阿尔忒弥斯2号任务将于2月至4月间执行，由三名美国宇航员和一名加拿大宇航员组成的乘组将搭乘"猎户座"飞船，由NASA太空发射系统火箭送入太空。其绕月航线将延续2022年无人驾驶的阿尔忒弥斯1号任务轨迹。若本次任务顺利，将为最早于2027年实施的阿尔忒弥斯3号载人登月任务奠定基础（实际时间可能更晚）。

蓝月着陆器执行月球投送：蓝色起源的无人着陆器将把NASA的"SCALPSS"实验装置运抵月球南极区域。立体相机将记录着陆燃烧与月球尘埃表面的相互作用，相关数据将纳入未来着陆计划。此次MK1任务将为203年开始执行载人登月的MK2着陆器开辟道路。2026年计划实施月球着陆的机器人航天器还包括中国嫦娥七号巡视器、萤火虫公司的"蓝幽灵2号"着陆器、直觉机器公司的IM-3着陆器以及Astrobotic公司的"格里芬"着陆器（将搭载两台微型巡视器和Interlune的氦气探测相机）。

西雅图航天企业进入发射倒计时：除蓝色起源外，多家翡翠城周边的企业正筹备2026年重大航天任务。肯特市的Stoke Space可能从佛罗里州发射首枚完全可重复使用的"新星"火箭，博塞尔的Portal Space Systems公司的"星爆"太空飞行器将首次进入轨道，塔奇拉市的Starfish Space公司将展示其灵活机动的"水獭"航天器如何为卫星提供太空助推服务。

"金穹"计划初具雏形：这项耗资1750亿美元的导弹防御系统提案已引发太空企业关注，特别是专注太空机动（如Portal Space和Starfish Space）或太空数据处理（如Starcloud和西雅图Sophia Space）的企业。华盛顿州玛丽斯维尔的Gravitics公司正在建造轨道运载器，根据价值可能达6000万美元的合同，该设备将成为美国太空军的"太空前置发射平台"。其他大型军事项目也有望在2026年浮出水面。

NASA何去何从？经历裁员与科学项目削减的一年，艾萨克曼接掌NASA后承诺在本届总统任期内实现宇航员登月，但资金问题仍是障碍。NASA观察网站负责人基思·考辛在以色列i24电视台表示："几乎可以肯定，他将前往白宫直言'我们需要更多资金支持'。"

彩蛋：即将呈现的天象奇观
3月3日的月全食将在美国上空上演（视天气情况而定）。8月12日的日食将使格陵兰岛、冰岛和西班牙的狭长地带陷入黑暗。虽然西雅图无法观测此次日食，但观众可通过网络平台捕捉精彩瞬间。

英文来源：

Lunar missions once felt like the domain of history books rather than current events, but an upcoming trip around the moon is poised to generate headlines at a level not seen since the Apollo era.
NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, which is due to launch four astronauts on a round-the-moon journey as a warmup for a future lunar landing, is shaping up as the spaceflight highlight of 2026. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took the agency’s helm this month after a tumultuous year, says it’s the top item on his must-see list.
“What’s not to be excited about?” he said last week on CNBC. “We’re sending American astronauts around the moon. It’s the first time we’ve done that in a half-century. … We’re weeks away, potentially a month or two away at most from sending American astronauts around the moon again.”
The Pacific Northwest plays a significant role in the back-to-moon campaign. For example, L3Harris Technologies’ team in Redmond, Wash., built thrusters for Artemis 2’s Orion crew vehicle. And Artemis 2 isn’t the only upcoming moon mission with Seattle-area connections: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, headquartered in Kent, plans to send an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the lunar surface in 2026 to help NASA get set for future moon trips.
“We are taking our first steps to help open up the lunar frontier for all of humanity,” Paul Brower, Blue Origin’s director of lunar operations, said in a recent LinkedIn post.
2026 could also be the year when Seattle-based Interlune sends its first prospecting instrument to the lunar surface to hunt for signs of helium-3, a rare material the company aims to bring back to Earth for use in fusion reactors or quantum computers.
As we close out 2025, here’s a look back at five of the past year’s space milestones and five trends to watch in the year to come.
Looking back at 2025
Blue Origin goes orbital: After a decade of development, Blue Origin launched its orbital-class New Glenn rocket for the first time in January, on a mission that lofted test equipment for its Blue Ring space mobility platform into orbit. A second launch in November sent NASA’s Escapade probes toward Mars and marked the first successful at-sea recovery of a New Glenn booster. On the suborbital side, Blue Origin’s New Shepard program provided rides to space for seven crews. Notable passengers included Lauren Sanchez, who became Bezos’ wife two months after her flight; Justin Sun, the crypto entrepreneur who paid $28 million for his space ticket; and Michaela Benthaus, the first wheelchair user to fly to space.
Amazon’s satellite network gets down to business: The first operational satellites for Amazon’s space-based broadband internet service were launched in April. The network’s name was changed from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo in November. Terminals have been shipped to early-stage customers for a preview program, and the rollout is expected to gather steam in 2026. Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to grow its Starlink network, with more than 9,300 satellites providing high-speed internet service to more than 9 million customers worldwide.
Rubin Observatory delivers first images: A decade and a half ago, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Charles Simonyi donated $30 million to support the creation of a giant sky-survey telescope in Chile. in June, the Rubin Observatory finally made its star-studded debut, with Simonyi in attendance. Researchers at the University of Washington played key roles in shepherding the $800 million project to completion.
A first for orbital data centers: Redmond-based Starcloud sent an Nvidia GPU chip into orbit in November, and weeks later it claimed to be the first company to train an artificial intelligence model in space. The achievement marked one small step in Starcloud’s campaign to create a network of data centers in orbit. Several tech titans — including Bezos, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Google’s Sundar Pichai — see orbital data centers as a way to satisfy the growing hunger for AI processing resources on Earth. Some say the trend is driving SpaceX’s plans to go public in 2026.
SpaceX’s Starship goes through ups and downs: Many of SpaceX’s ambitions, ranging from orbital data centers to moon landings to Mars migrations, depend on the successful development of its Starship super-rocket. Starship also plays a crucial role in the business models for lots of space startups, including Starcloud and a Seattle-based space travel venture called Orbite. Three Starship test flights ended badly in the first half of 2025, but SpaceX bounced back with two successful test flights in the second half of the year. Now SpaceX is working on an upgraded version of Starship — and dealing with the aftermath of a booster anomaly that occurred during a pressurization test in November.
Looking ahead to 2026
Artemis 2 to send humans around the moon: For the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans will leave Earth orbit. The current plan calls for the Artemis 2 mission to take place in the February-to-April time frame. A crew of four — three Americans and one Canadian astronaut — will climb into the Orion spacecraft and be sent into space atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The round-the-moon route will be similar to the trajectory used for NASA’s uncrewed Artemis 1 flight in 2022. If Artemis 2 goes well, that could set the stage for an Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing as early as 2027 (but more likely later).
Blue Moon’s lunar delivery: Blue Origin’s uncrewed lander is tasked with delivering a NASA experiment called SCALPSS to the moon’s south polar region. Stereo cameras will document how the landing burn interacts with the dusty lunar surface — and the results will be factored into plans for future landings. This Blue Moon Mark 1 mission will blaze a trail for Blue Origin’s Mark 2 lander, which is due to start taking astronauts to the lunar surface in 2030. Other robotic spacecraft scheduled for moon landings in 2026 include China’s Chang’e 7 rover, Firefly’s Blue Ghost 2 lander, Intuitive Machines’ IM-3 lander and Astrobotic’s Griffin lander (which will be carrying two mini-rovers and Interlune’s helium-hunting camera).
Seattle space companies count down to liftoff: In addition to Blue Origin, several other companies headquartered near the Emerald City are planning big space missions in 2026. Kent-based Stoke Space could launch its first fully reusable Nova rocket from Florida. Bothell-based Portal Space Systems’ Starburst space vehicle is due to make its orbital debut. And Tukwila-based Starfish Space is scheduled to demonstrate how its maneuverable Otter spacecraft can give satellites an in-space boost.
Golden Dome takes shape: A proposed $175 billion missile defense system known as the Golden Dome is already attracting interest from space ventures — particularly ventures that are focusing on in-space mobility (such as Portal Space and Starfish Space) or in-space data processing (such as Starcloud and Seattle-based Sophia Space). Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics is building an orbital carrier that would serve as a “pre-positioned launch pad in space” for the U.S. Space Force, under the terms of a deal that could be worth as much as $60 million. Other big-ticket military projects are likely to come to light in 2026.
Whither NASA? Or will NASA wither? Isaacman is taking over at NASA following a year of layoffs and science program cuts. He has pledged to land astronauts on the moon during the current presidential term, but funding remains a hurdle. “I almost guarantee you he’s going to be walking up the street to the White House, saying ‘I really need more money,’” NASAWatch’s Keith Cowing said on Israel’s i24 TV.
Bonus: Coming to a sky (or a screen) near you: Keep an eye out for a total lunar eclipse on March 3 that will be visible over the U.S., weather permitting. There’s also a solar eclipse on Aug. 12 that will bring totality to narrow stretches of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Although this eclipse can’t be seen in Seattle’s skies, you should be able to catch the highlights online.