NASA’s collaborative tracking effort for Artemis II involves no exchange of funds and the cooperation will be provided free of charge.
NASA selected 34 participants to voluntarily track the Orion spacecraft for Artemis II, including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Telespazio, Intuitive Machines, universities, amateur radio groups, and private citizens.
The four astronauts assigned to Artemis II entered quarantine on January 23 to reduce their exposure to pathogens.
Integrasys’s contribution to the Artemis II tracking collaboration centers on the Orbisat platform developed by Integrasys’s subsidiary in Luxembourg.
The Artemis II Orion spacecraft will carry several commemorative mementos.
NASA will evaluate the tracking data shared by Artemis II volunteers against canonical data to validate their abilities for potential use in future missions.
The crew quarantine period for Artemis II typically starts 14 days before launch.
Intuitive Machines is among the volunteers tracking Artemis II and hopes to build its own lunar communications network.
NASA selected 34 volunteers from across 14 countries to track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft’s signals during the mission.
Artemis II will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program and will involve a flight around the Moon without landing on the surface.
NASA aims to send four astronauts around the Moon and back on Artemis II, the first crewed mission of the Artemis campaign, as early as February.
The Artemis II launch date decision will depend on the completion of system verifications.
NASA will schedule the Artemis II launch only when all operational conditions are deemed satisfactory.
Artemis II will lose connectivity with Earth only when the spacecraft goes around the far side of the Moon.
Artemis II will test a laser-enabled communications system that provides increased bandwidth compared with the Deep Space Network.
Artemis II crew members will have the opportunity to speak with their families at least once, and possibly twice, during the mission.
The Artemis II vehicle will provide a local Wi‑Fi network for onboard devices that will not have access to the Internet on Earth.
Launch opportunities for Artemis II open on February 6, 2026.
Artemis II will have contact with Mission Control for almost the entire mission if the mission goes according to plan.
Artemis II will route downlinked camera video through NASA's Deep Space Network.