Innovation for Astrophysics Missions Workshop 2026

Astronomers have bold goals for the coming decades: to search for life on Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars, understand how galaxies, stars, and planets came to be, and probe the fundamental physics of the Universe. The landscape of space science and exploration that enables these ambitious goals is transforming rapidly. Commercially developed spacecraft and launch capabilities are accelerating mission timelines and reducing costs, new public-private partnerships are emerging, and the Artemis program is creating fresh opportunities to do astrophysics from platforms on the Moon and in cislunar space. This workshop will bring together the brightest minds from NASA, the space industry, other government agencies, non-profits, and the scientific community to reimagine what's possible in this new landscape. The workshop will explore: Commercial capabilities for missions of all sizes, Innovative partnerships, New development pathways that deliver science faster and more affordably, Science opportunities within the Moon-to-Mars architecture. We welcome multi-disciplinary participation by technologists, commercial innovators, policymakers, and scientists. Expect engaging panel discussions and plenty of time for collaboration and networking. We envision this workshop as the beginning of a conversation that will help shape inputs to the Astro2030 Decadal Survey and the future of astrophysics missions at all scales.