Radio amateurs will join a powerful international network following NASA’s Orion spacecraft after it launches toward the moon this month.
NASA officials announced that a network of 18 volunteers, organizations and space agencies will assist with follow-up Artemis 1which will send an unmanned Orion spacecraft into orbit the moon after leaving from land on top of Space launch system (SLS) rocket. The release is scheduled for November 14 at the latest.
The selected volunteers, including two people from the radio amateur community, will “demonstrate whether they can receive Orion’s signal and use their respective ground antennas to passively track and measure changes in the radio waves transmitted by Orion,” they said. NASA officials said in a statement. (opens in new tab) on Monday (October 31).
“These measurements will be made during three distinct phases of Orion’s approximately 25-day mission: the trip to the Moon, its orbit above the lunar surface, and the trip back to Earth,” the officials added of the agency.
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 Moon Mission Explained in Photos
NASA collected the proposals in a request for information (opens in a new tab) published in August. Data collected by participants will be sent to the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. The goal is to improve tracking information for future deep space missions, NASA officials said. (NASA will also collect its own tracking data on Orion.)
“We received dozens of calls from antenna owners and operators around the world asking, ‘How can we get involved?'” John Hudiburg, SCaN’s manager of mission engagement, said in the statement. our answer: show us what you can do while supporting the next big thing in human space exploration.”
Participating government space agencies include:
- Canadian Space Agency, Canada
- National Center for Space Studies (CNES), France
- German Aerospace Center (German Aerospace Center), Germany
- Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Republic of Korea
- National Space Centre, Elfordstown Earthstation, Ireland
Commercial companies include:
- Clearbox Systems Pty Ltd., Australia
- Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd., United Kingdom
- Intuitive Machines, USA
- Kongsberg Satellite Services (US office)
- Leaf Space LLC, USA
- Swedish Space Corporation (US office)
- Telespazio, Italy
- Vambrace Inc., USA
- Viasat, USA
The other volunteer groups or individuals are:
- Non-profit: CAMRAS, Netherlands
- Academic institutions: Space Systems Design Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute, USA
- Private citizens: Scott Chapman, USA and Scott Tilley, Canada
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of Why Am I Taller (over in a new tab)? (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book on space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) or Facebook (opens in a new tab).