This year, the Moon had visitors again. In April, four people flew around it, and before the year is out it will rise twice more as a supermoon. Here is what happened, what comes next, and when to look up.

Four people went around it

Artemis II launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026. Ten days later, on April 10, its Orion capsule splashed down off the coast of California after a trip around the Moon and back.1

Crew member Role Agency
Reid Wiseman Commander2 NASA3
Victor Glover Pilot1 NASA3
Christina Koch Mission specialist1 NASA3
Jeremy Hansen Crew member Canadian Space Agency3

On April 6, at 12:56 p.m. CDT, the crew passed the record Apollo 13 set in 1970 and became the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.3

What comes next

Not a landing, yet. NASA has reshaped Artemis III into a test mission in Earth orbit: an Orion capsule will carry astronauts up to practice docking with one or both of the planned lunar landers, Blue Origin's Blue Moon and SpaceX's Starship. It is expected in late 2027.4

Landings could come as early as 2028, the year Artemis IV is currently scheduled.2

A Moon that keeps moving

While we work our way back, the Moon keeps edging away, by about 3.8 centimeters a year.5 Scientists track that drift by aiming lasers at mirrors Apollo 11 astronauts left on the surface on July 21, 1969.5 We've written about why the Moon is drifting away: it comes down to ocean tides, and the same tides are slowly lengthening our days.

Look up

A supermoon is a full Moon that happens when the Moon is at, or near, the closest point in its orbit to Earth. Two are left in 2026:6

Date Name Where to look
November 24 Beaver Moon Rises in the northeast before sunset, sets in the southwest before sunrise
December 24 Cold Moon Rises in the northeast just before sunset, sets in the northwest as dawn breaks

Catch either one just after it rises, and it may look enormous. Most of that is the trick explained in Why the Moon looks bigger near the horizon. Either way, it is the same Moon the Artemis II crew saw up close this spring, a few centimeters farther away than it was last year.

  1. NASA, "Artemis II crew returns to Earth" (April 2026): https://www.nasa.gov/?p=983425 ↩

  2. FOX 35 Orlando, "Artemis II astronauts reflect on historic deep space mission as they undergo recovery" (April 16, 2026): https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/artemis-ii-astronauts-reflect-historic-deep-space-mission-undergo-recovery ↩

  3. NASA, "NASA's Artemis II crew eclipses record for farthest human spaceflight" (April 2026): https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-crew-eclipses-record-for-farthest-human-spaceflight ↩

  4. Scientific American, "What we know—and what we don't—about NASA's Artemis III mission" (2026): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-reveals-new-clues-to-2027s-artemis-iii-the-final-test-mission-before-a-moon-landing/ ↩

  5. The Conversation, "How did the Moon end up where it is?": https://theconversation.com/how-did-the-moon-end-up-where-it-is-114930 ↩

  6. BBC Sky at Night Magazine, "We'll get three supermoons in 2026": https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/supermoons-2026 ↩