Space Events

NASA will provide an update on the agency’s Artemis III mission and announce the astronauts assigned to the test flight. Artemis III will launch four astronauts from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The mission will test critical rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial human landing systems needed to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface. Building on the successful Artemis II crewed test flight in April, Artemis III will pave the way for future surface missions.

As part of its mission extension, JAXA's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will observe S-type asteroid (98943) Torifune during a high-speed fly-by.

On 12 August 2026, a solar eclipse will be visible across parts of Europe and the north Atlantic. The path of totality will cross Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a small area of northeastern Portugal. Other parts of Europe will see a partial solar eclipse.