UNDERSTANDING AMERICA.TODAY / STRATEGIC EXPLORER

Who is winning where?

Track the contest for access, infrastructure, industry, science and power—from low Earth orbit to the outer planets.

CURATED SCOPE70national profiles38featured actors25featured missions

ERA2016–TODAY · THE SECOND SPACE RACEChange era⌄

Mission searchActorDestinationDensity16 missions in this view

STRATEGIC OPERATING PICTURE

Earth orbit → deep space

THE SECOND SPACE RACE

EARTH

LEO

Earth orbit

Moon

Mars

Deep space

DOCUMENTED CAPABILITIES / CHECKED 9 OCT 2026

Different strengths. Different evidence.

QUALITATIVE COMPARISON · NO COMPOSITE RANKING

Crew and launch · Demonstrated

Commercial Crew Dragon transport to the ISS; Artemis II crewed lunar flyby completed in 2026.

NASA: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 ↗NASA: Artemis II mission overview ↗

Lunar surface · Development / planned

Artemis III is a 2027 Earth-orbit demonstration; a crewed lunar landing is targeted for 2028.

NASA: Artemis program mission descriptions ↗NASA: How NASA’s Artemis III Lander Test Will Pave Way for Moon Landings ↗

Science · Launch demonstrated

Roman launched in August 2026; Europa Clipper is an interplanetary science mission.

NASA: NASA’s Dark Universe-Seeking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launches ↗NASA: Europa Clipper ↗

Crew and logistics · Demonstrated

Tiangong supports crewed research with Shenzhou transport and Tianzhou cargo.

CMSA: Shenzhou-23 crew completes spacewalk ↗CMSA: Shenzhou-23 completes docking with station ↗CMSA: Tianzhou-10 completes docking with station ↗

Lunar samples · Demonstrated

Chang’e-6 returned far-side lunar samples in June 2024.

CNSA: Timeline of Chang’e-6 mission ↗

Future exploration · Planned / delayed

Chang’e-7 is delayed beyond its planned 2026 window; ILRS remains a planned architecture.

CNSA: Chang’e-7 mission cannot be implemented in the planned launch window this year ↗CNSA: International Lunar Research Station attracts more partners: CNSA ↗

Launch · Demonstrated

The four-booster Ariane 6 first flew February 2026; upgraded boosters flew June 2026.

ESA: More power: first Ariane 6 with four boosters lifts off ↗ESA: Ariane 6 launches with more powerful boosters: a new record for Europe ↗

Science · Operating

Euclid is carrying out a cosmology survey.

ESA: Euclid overview ↗

Orbital cleanup · Development

ClearSpace-1 targets a 2029 demonstration; it is not an operating removal service.

ESA: ClearSpace-1 ↗

Crew transport · Demonstrated

Soyuz MS-29 launched a station crew in July 2026.

NASA: Soyuz Spacecraft Launches New Crew for Station Arrival Today ↗

Historical record · Historical scope

Soviet-era milestones must be distinguished from the current Russian program; no combined current capability score is justified.

Lunar landing · Demonstrated historical mission

Chandrayaan-3 soft-landed in August 2023.

ISRO: Chandrayaan-3 ↗

Independent crew transport · Development

Gaganyaan is a human-spaceflight development program.

ISRO: Gaganyaan ↗

Lunar partnership · Development

ISRO is responsible for the lander in the JAXA–ISRO polar mission.

JAXA: Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) Project Underway ↗

Launch · Demonstrated

JAXA’s June 2026 H3 test vehicle reached its intended orbit and deployed payloads.

JAXA: Launch Result of H3 Launch Vehicle flight No.6, 30 configuration Test Vehicle ↗

Lunar landing · Demonstrated historical mission

SLIM landed on the Moon in January 2024.

JAXA: The results of the Moon Landing by the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon ↗

Lunar partnership · Development

JAXA is developing the rover for LUPEX with ISRO.

JAXA: Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) Project Underway ↗

Who is winning where?

Earth orbit → deep space

Different strengths. Different evidence.

United States

China

Europe

Russia / Soviet history

India

Japan