NASA Selects 34 Volunteers, Including Intuitive Machines, to Support Tracking for Artemis II Moon Mission
NASA announced its selection of Intuitive Machines as part of 34 global volunteers chosen to track the Artemis II Mission on Jan. 23.
(Washington, D.C.) Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) issued a press release last night (Jan. 26) regarding its selection as one of 34 global volunteers chosen by NASA to track the Artemis II Mission; NASA issued the initial selection notice on Jan. 23.
Image of the Orion capsule viewing the Moon during Artemis I courtesy of NASA.
Per the press release from Intuitive Machines, the company will support the Artemis II mission using its Space Data Network (‘SDN’) and ground station infrastructure, and will specifically track the radio waves transmitted by the Orion spacecraft during its 10-day journey to and around the moon.
The Artemis II mission’s first launch window opens on Feb. 6, when it will launch NASA’s Space Launch System (‘SLS’) rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft and a crew of four astronauts on a mission to deep space; the mission marks a key step in NASA’s path toward establishing a long-term presence on the Moon and confirming systems needed to support future lunar surface explanation, and paving the way for the first crewed mission to Mars, according to Intuitive Machines.
According to Intuitive Machines, NASA’s Near Space Network, which Intuitive Machines helps support through its SDN, and NASA’s Deep Space Network, coordinated by the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation (“SCaN”) program, will provide primary communications and tracking service to support Orion’s launch, journey around the Moon, and return to Earth.
Image courtesy of yesterday’s press release from Intuitive Machines.
“In partnership with NASA, tracking Artemis II is another opportunity to strengthen and expand our Space Data Network, while we continue our work under the agency’s Near Space Network services contract,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. “We look forward to providing resilient, persistent networking for future Artemis campaign missions and our commercial partners.”
Government:
- Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Canada
- The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany
Commercial:
- Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd, United Kingdom
- GovSmart, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Integrasys + University of Seville, Spain
- Intuitive Machines, Houston
- Kongsberg Satellite Services, Norway
- Raven Defense Corporation, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Reca Space Agency + University of Douala, Cameroon
- Rincon Research Corporation & the University of Arizona, Tucson
- Sky Perfect JSAT, Japan
- Space Operations New Zealand Limited, New Zealand
- Telespazio, Italy
- ViaSat, Carlsbad, California
- Von Storch Engineering, Netherlands
Individual: - Chris Swier, South Dakota
- Dan Slater, California
- Loretta A Smalls, California
- Scott Tilley, Canada
Academia:
- American University, Washington
- Awara Space Center + Fukui University of Technology, Japan
- Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky
- Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, Rosman, North Carolina
- University of California Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, California
- University of New Brunswick, ECE, Canada
- University of Pittsburgh, ECE, Pittsburgh
- University of Zurich – Physics Department, Switzerland
Non-Profit & Amateur Radio Organizations:
- AMSAT Argentina, Argentina
- AMSAT Deutschland, Germany
- Amateur Radio Exploration Ground Station Consortium, Towson, Maryland
- CAMRAS, Netherlands
- Deep Space Exploration Society, Kiowa County, Colorado
- Neu Golm Ground Station, Germany
- Observation Radio Pleumeur-bodou, France
