Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: NASA

NASA has selected a number of global volunteers to track the Orion spacecraft during the crewed Artemis II mission’s journey around the Moon.

The space agency’s SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) program announced last week 34 participants to support the Artemis/Orion launch, and the 10-day journey around the Moon, and the crew’s return to Earth.

Participants are established commercial service providers, members of academia, as well as individual amateur radio enthusiasts.

These groups and individuals will use their respective equipment to passively track radio waves transmitted by the Artemis/Orion mission during their voyage.

Artistic view of crewed Orion spacecraft skirting by the Moon.
Image credit: NASA Goddard/Scientific Visualization Studio

Public-private ecosystem

“The Artemis II tracking opportunity is a real step toward SCaN’s commercial-first vision,” said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator for SCaN at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“By inviting external organizations to demonstrate their capabilities during a human spaceflight mission, we’re strengthening the marketplace we’ll rely on as we explore farther into the solar system,” said Coggins added in a SCaN statement.

“This isn’t about tracking one mission, but about building a resilient, public-private ecosystem that will support the Golden Age of innovation and exploration,” said Coggins.

For more information on SCaN, go to:

https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/