Description A graphical representation of the Deep Space Network’s radio frequency antennas indicate signal acquisition from NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026, inside the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Two antennas at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, Deep Space Station 54 and […]
Category: Artemis
The Deep Space Network Acquires Artemis II Signal
Description The acquisition of the radio frequency signal from the Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon by NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) is indicated by the peak in the data signal shown on the top computer screen. Soon after the mission’s launch on April 1, 2026, at 6:35 p.m. EDT, NASA’s Near Space Network […]
Watching Over the Deep Space Network Before Artemis II Signal Acquisition
Description Blanca Renteria, Artemis Deep Space Network (DSN) operations chief, monitors data at the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California shortly after Artemis II launched from the agency’s Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, at 6:35 p.m. EDT. The Space Flight Operations Facility operates the […]
Watching the Artemis II Launch From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
Description Staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California watch the launch of the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026, at the Space Flight Operations Facility, which operates the Deep Space Network (DSN). Soon after launch, the Artemis II crew communicated with the Near Space Network while they were […]
JPL’s ‘Lucky Peanuts’ Before Artemis II Launch
Description A container of “lucky peanuts” sits above workstations within the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shortly before the launch of the Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026. Eating peanuts before launches and other major mission events is a longstanding tradition at JPL. The Space Flight Operations Facility operates […]
Supporting Artemis II From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
Description The Artemis II mission patch appears in the center screen of the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on April 1, 2026, shortly before the mission launched to the Moon. A graphical representation of the antennas of the agency’s Deep Space Network (DSN), left, indicates which antennas are […]
Twin NASA Control Rooms Support Artemis Safety, Success
Twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are actively supporting real-time mission operations in lunar orbit as part of the agency’s Artemis II mission, helping ensure astronaut safety and mission success as the crew prepares to return to Earth Friday, April 10. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA […]
NASA’s Artemis II Crew Beams Official Moon Flyby Photos to Earth
The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal some regions no human has seen, including a rare in-space solar eclipse. Released Tuesday, astronauts captured the images April 6 during the mission’s seven-hour flyby of the lunar far side, showing humanity’s return to the Moon’s […]
Earthset
The Artemis II crew captured this view of Earth setting on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. As the astronauts flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time. […]
NASA to Host Media Call with Artemis II Crew on Way Home from Moon
Media will have an opportunity at 9:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 8, to speak with NASA’s Artemis II crew members as they continue their journey toward Earth during their historic mission around the Moon. The 20-minute virtual news conference will take place with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA […]