NASA Uses Volunteers to Track Artemis 1 Mission to the Moon Next Week

Next week the Orion spacecraft will be launched to the Moon. (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA - Next week the Orion spacecraft will be launched to the Moon, aboard a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. A number of amateur radio operators joined international networks to track the mission.

A total of 18 volunteers from individuals or groups, organizations and space agencies will help track the Artemis 1 mission, which will send Orion into orbit around the Moon after blasting off Earth aboard the SLS rocket. The launch, if there is no hitch, will be set for November 14th.

The volunteers will track Orion's signal, and measure changes in the radio waves transmitted by the plane.

"They (volunteers) will demonstrate whether they can receive Orion signals, and use their respective ground antennas to passively track and measure changes in the radio waves transmitted by Orion," NASA said in a statement.

"These measurements will be made during three different phases of Orion's approximately 25-day mission, namely the journey to the Moon, its orbit above the lunar surface and the return journey to Earth."

After the volunteers track down Orion, their data will be sent to NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program.

The goal is to improve tracking information on future space missions. However, NASA is not just relying on the data from the volunteers, they themselves will also be collecting Orion tracking data.

"We receive dozens of calls from antenna owners and operators around the world asking, How can we get involved? This is our answer. Show us what you can do while supporting the next big thing in human space exploration," said the commitment manager. SCaN mission, John Hudiburg.

Citing Space, Monday, November 7, the following is a list of volunteers who participated in tracking the Orion plane, South Korea also took part.

Government Space Agency: Canadian Space Agency, Canada, Center National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) / France, German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) / Germany, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) / Republic of Korea

National Space Centre, Elfordstown Earthstation / Ireland.

Commercial Company:

Clearbox Systems Pty Ltd / Australia, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd. / UK, Intuitive Machines / US, Kongsberg Satellite Services (U.S. office), Leaf Space LLC / US, Swedish Space Corporation (U.S. office), Telespazio / Italy, Vambrace Inc. / US, Viasat / US.

Volunteer Group or Individual

Non-profit: CAMRAS, Netherlands, Academic institution: Space Systems Design Laboratory, Georgia Research Institute of Technology, USA, Citizens: Scott Chapman, USA and Scott Tilley, Canada.