What's Happening in Space: June 2026
- 29th May 2026
- Author: Dhara Patel
A summary of space events through the month
Once again, our fab Space Expert, Dhara Patel, shares her insider guide to star gazing opportunities and the latest space happenings in June!
Throughout June - Spot the International Space Station
From Leicester, there may be sightings throughout June to spot the International Space Station (ISS) moving across the sky. Download NASA’s Spot the Station app using the App Store or Google Play to find out when and where to spot the largest artificial satellite overhead from your location. It’ll look like a bright star moving relatively quickly across the sky (generally from west to east) and will be visible to the naked eye.
Throughout June – Stargazing challenges
Each month, we'll be sharing some stargazing challenges for everyone to have a go at. From spotting the Moon and familiar star patterns, to catching meteor showers and eclipses. Check out our Stargazing Challenges – June 2026 blog for more details.
9th June – Jupiter and Venus close in the sky
Jupiter and Venus will be in conjunction (sharing the same right ascension – coordinate) during the afternoon of 9 June, but in the daytime sky they won’t be possible to see. However, the pair will appear to move closer together as the Sun begins to set and will be closest together around 20:50 visible to the naked eye in the west, as the sky begins to darken. Venus will appear slightly brighter and sit a little higher above Jupiter. Being the largest planet (Jupiter), and one of Earth’s closest neighbours (Venus) with a thick reflective atmosphere, they will look like bright shining stars – often the first points to light up in the evening sky. As the night unfolds, they’ll begin to set, disappearing below the horizon around 23:00 so be sure to try and catch them before then. The duo will be close to the horizon when they become visible so be sure to have a clear view of the western horizon to have a better chance of spotting them. Find out more about close approaches and conjunctions in the Astronomical phenomena blog written by David Southworth in the NSC Education team to find out more
9th June – NASA to announce the crew of Artemis III mission
At 16:00 (UK-time) on 9 June, NASA will provide an update on the Artemis III mission and announce the astronauts that will be assigned to this test flight. Following the Artemis I flight in 2022 where the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft were tested on an uncrewed mission around the Moon, and the Artemis II flight from earlier this year where we saw four astronauts take a 10-day journey to the Moon and back using the SLS and Orion, Artemis III will continue paving the way for future lunar surface missions. Four astronauts are currently scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in 2027. In Earth orbit, the mission will test critical rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and one or both of the commercial human landing systems (that are being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin) needed to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface for the Artemis IV mission (2028) and beyond.
10th June – Moon and Saturn close in the sky
The Moon will be in conjunction (sharing the same right ascension – coordinate) with Saturn shortly after midday on 10 June and they’ll appear at their closest shortly before 8:00 in the morning, but in the daylight, Saturn will be lost in the Sun’s glare. Instead look towards the east before the Sun rises to spot Saturn as a bright point of light visible to the naked eye, lying under the waning crescent moon. They’ll rise higher above the horizon as day breaks, so you’ll need to find the sweet spot of it being early and dark enough to spot their light vs. it being closer to the time of sunrise so they’re higher above the horizon making them easier to observe. Check out the astronomical phenomena blog linked above to find out more about close approaches and conjunctions and other astronomical phenomena.
12th / 13th June – Moon and Mars close in the sky
The thin waning crescent moon will be observable near Mars in the east during the early morning of 12 or 13 June – visible to the naked eye before sunrise. The Moon will be in conjunction (sharing the same right ascension – coordinate) with Mars shortly after 22:00 on 12 June when the pair are below the horizon and unobservable. So, the best time to try and spot the duo is around 03:30 on either the morning on 12 June when Mars will sit to the left of the Moon or on the morning of 13 June when it will appear on the right of the Moon instead. The pair will be close to the horizon so try to find clear, unobstructed views of the eastern horizon to make them easier to spot. And you’ll need to find the sweet spot of it being early and dark enough to spot their light vs. it being closer to the time of sunrise when they’re a little higher above the horizon and easier to spot. Check out the astronomical phenomena blog linked above to find out more about close approaches and conjunctions and other astronomical phenomena.
15th June - New moon (03:54)
The new moon will occur in the constellation of Taurus. The lack of moonlight interference provides a great time to try and view deep sky objects (especially with the aid of binoculars and telescopes). We have a blog on Moon phases written by Mike Darch in the NSC Education team.
15th June – Mercury at greatest eastern elongation
Because Mercury orbits closer to the Sun than Earth, it always appears quite close to the Sun in the sky being lost in its glare most of the time. However, Mercury will be at its furthest separation from the Sun on 15 June when it reaches greatest eastern elongation, making it a great time to try and spot the Sun’s closest planet. Look to the west as the Sun sets – it will be very close to the horizon, so you’ll need a good clear view without tall buildings and trees. It is visible to the naked eye, so keep a look out as the sky begins to darken – it’s fainter light will be easier to spot as it sets and drops towards the horizon but be sure to catch it well before 23:00 when it will disappear from view. Check out the astronomical phenomena blog linked above to find out more about greatest elongations and other astronomical phenomena.
16th June – Moon and Mercury, Venus and Jupiter close in the sky
The Moon will be in conjunction (sharing the same right ascension – coordinate) with Mercury around 20:30, but you’ll need to wait a little later until the sun sets and the sky begins to darken to spot the star-like point of Mercury nestled under the very thin waxing crescent moon in the north-western sky. The duo will be very low on the horizon, so you’ll need good clear views to spot them. You’ll also be able to spot Venus (a little higher up and to the left) and Jupiter (equidistance between Venus and Mercury) – all visible to the naked eye. By the following evening, the waxing crescent moon will have moved by this trio of planets and will sit right under Venus – so it’s a great chance to try spotting three planets with the help of the Moon over a couple of evenings. Check out the astronomical phenomena blog linked above to find out more about close approaches and conjunctions and other astronomical phenomena.
21st June – summer solstice (09:27)
In the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice (also called the summer solstice) is when the North Pole of the Earth becomes most tilted towards the Sun during its yearly orbit, and as a result the Sun reaches its northernmost position in the sky being directly over the Tropic of Cancer. This marks the beginning of northern hemisphere summer in the astronomical calendar. We experience the year's longest day in terms of hours of daylight. Find out more about Equinoxes and Solstices in this blog by Catherine Muller formerly in the NSC Public Programmes team.
30th June – Full moon (00:56)
Known as the Strawberry moon (according to the old Farmers’ Almanac), this full moon is named to mark when it was favourable to start harvesting strawberries. Check out the Full Moon: Full Facts blog written by Mike Darch in the NSC Education team to find out more.
June – Tianwen 2 arrives at asteroid Kamo’oalewa
Having launched in May 2025, China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft is set to arrive at its destination, near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewa, this June. It’s a highly ambitious mission to study the asteroid and retrieve samples of regolith from its surface and bring them back to Earth. Following its arrival, the spacecraft will spend several months (up until mid-2027) studying the asteroid from different altitudes and eventually collect at least 100g of ‘soil’ using touch-and-go and anchor-and-attach techniques. In late 2027 the main spacecraft will return to Earth releasing a re-entry capsule containing the samples and will use a gravity assist at our planet to slingshot its way back out into the Solar System to rendezvous with comet 311P/PANSTARRS, which it is expected to reach in 2035.
No earlier than June - Isar Spectrum Flight Two
In 2025, a first attempt was made by Isar Aerospace, from Andøya Spaceport in Norway to launch an orbital-class rocket from European soil. In this test flight the rocket crashed roughly 20–30 seconds after launch and did not reach orbit. Both Spectrum Flight Two (again by Isar Aerospace, launching from Andøya Spaceport in Norway) and Rocket Factory Augsburg's (RFA) rocket set to launch from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland on the RFA ONE demo flight, are on the verge of becoming the first successful orbital flight from European soil. Delayed multiple times from earlier this year (postponed due to a defective valve and then due to a boat entering the exclusion zone around the launch site during the launch window), Spectrum Flight Two now has a scheduled launch date of no earlier than this month and is expected to carry 5 CubeSats and 1 non-separable experiment into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit.
No earlier than June – Swift Rescue Mission
After launching in 2004, the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has slowly been decaying (with no thrusters to propel itself back) – something that happens due to atmospheric drag. It’s the only observatory of its kind to study explosive events across the Universe. The X-ray telescope components were built here in Leicester, and the University hosts the UK Swift Science Data Centre which provides access to a wide range of scientific data to the whole international science community. At its current rate, the observatory will fall too close to Earth in later 2026 bringing the mission to an end. To prevent this and extend the mission lifetime by a number of years, a first of its kind mission to push it back into a higher orbit has been given the go ahead and it is set to launch no earlier than June. Swift has no inbuilt docking structure, so the private company (Katalyst) selected for the job has done some extraordinary ‘detective work’ to plan the best way to capture and drag the telescope to a higher orbit. The LINK robotic servicer developed for the task in hand by Katalyst Space Technologies is set to launch on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket and will be carried aloft by the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft from the Marshall Islands to approximately 40,000 feet over open ocean. From there it will be released and after free-falling for five seconds it will ignite its first stage rocket motor and deliver the servicer into orbit in a little over 10 minutes. It will mark the first time a commercial robotic spacecraft captures and services an uncrewed government satellite that was never designed for docking.
Please note: As this summary is created at the end of the month before, dates (especially launch dates) can often change or be updated, so this content may become outdated - we always recommend checking on the relevant organisation's pages.