NASA has selected 34 global volunteers to track the Orion spacecraft during its approximately 10-day journey around the Moon as part of the agency's Artemis II mission. These volunteers, comprising commercial service providers, academics, and individual amateur radio enthusiasts, will utilize their equipment to passively track radio waves transmitted by the Orion spacecraft.
The tracking opportunity is part of NASA's commercial-first vision for its Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program. By inviting external organizations to demonstrate their capabilities during a human spaceflight mission, the agency aims to strengthen the marketplace it will rely on as it explores farther into the solar system.
The data collected by these volunteers will be submitted to NASA for analysis, helping the agency better assess the broader aerospace community's tracking capabilities and identify ways to augment future Moon and Mars mission support. This effort builds upon a previous initiative where 10 volunteers successfully tracked the Orion spacecraft during Artemis I in 2022, producing valuable data and lessons learned.
In comparison, the current Artemis II opportunity has garnered more public interest, with approximately 47 ground assets spanning 14 different countries participating to track the spacecraft during its journey. These participating organizations include government agencies, commercial companies, universities, and individual radio enthusiasts from around the world.
The tracking of Orion's journey around the Moon is crucial for NASA's Artemis II mission, which aims to test systems that will carry astronauts to the lunar surface for economic benefits and scientific discovery in the Golden Age of exploration and innovation. The Deep Space Network, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, provides communications services to missions, while the Near Space Network, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, supports tracking services.
The SCaN program office oversees the networks supporting Artemis II, developing technologies and capabilities that will help propel NASA to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. To learn more about NASA's SCaN Program, visit https://www.nasa.gov/scan.
The tracking opportunity is part of NASA's commercial-first vision for its Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program. By inviting external organizations to demonstrate their capabilities during a human spaceflight mission, the agency aims to strengthen the marketplace it will rely on as it explores farther into the solar system.
The data collected by these volunteers will be submitted to NASA for analysis, helping the agency better assess the broader aerospace community's tracking capabilities and identify ways to augment future Moon and Mars mission support. This effort builds upon a previous initiative where 10 volunteers successfully tracked the Orion spacecraft during Artemis I in 2022, producing valuable data and lessons learned.
In comparison, the current Artemis II opportunity has garnered more public interest, with approximately 47 ground assets spanning 14 different countries participating to track the spacecraft during its journey. These participating organizations include government agencies, commercial companies, universities, and individual radio enthusiasts from around the world.
The tracking of Orion's journey around the Moon is crucial for NASA's Artemis II mission, which aims to test systems that will carry astronauts to the lunar surface for economic benefits and scientific discovery in the Golden Age of exploration and innovation. The Deep Space Network, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, provides communications services to missions, while the Near Space Network, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, supports tracking services.
The SCaN program office oversees the networks supporting Artemis II, developing technologies and capabilities that will help propel NASA to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. To learn more about NASA's SCaN Program, visit https://www.nasa.gov/scan.
. I THINK THIS IS SUCH A COOL WAY FOR NASA TO INVOLVE COMMUNITIES AND GET FEEDBACK ON THEIR EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES. IT'S LIKE THEY'RE SAYING, "HEY, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE SPACE EXPLORATION BETTER!" 
AND WHO DOESN'T WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIG?! 
nasa is really taking its space communication and navigation program seriously by having all these volunteers track the orion spacecraft during its journey around the moon 
it's like they're saying "hey, we need to make sure our systems are good enough for future missions" 
and who can blame them? 
with 47 ground assets participating from 14 different countries 
that's some serious teamwork 
it's like nasa is saying "hey, we value your skills too" 
! It's amazing how much interest there is in this mission - 47 ground assets in 14 countries? That's crazy 
. And think about all the valuable data they'll be collecting, which will help NASA improve their systems for future missions 
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The SCaN program is all about developing those capabilities, and I think it's awesome that they're involving so many different organizations in this effort 
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. and it's awesome that NASA is trying to get more people involved in the space community - it's not all about the pros, you know? even some random guy from earth can contribute to making space exploration better 