Photo courtesy of NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/J. Hellerman The National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Telescope has been tracking NASA’s Artemis II mission throughout its historic journey around the moon.

GREEN BANK — The National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Telescope has been supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission by tracking the Orion spacecraft throughout its historic journey around the moon.

As part of NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program, officials with the NSF Green Bank Telescope state that it has been supporting Artemis II tracking and communications, adding “extra sensitivity and coverage” to the networks that keep astronauts connected with Earth.

The Green Bank Telescope has provided support for the Artemis II mission for five days of the roughly 10-day test flight, observing Orion for six hours each day when the crew was closest to the moon.

Officials stated that, using the Green Bank Telescope’s 100-meter collecting area and highly sensitive receivers, it would be conducting radar observations of Orion as it travels beyond low Earth orbit. This contributed precise tracking data that supports the mission’s safety and navigation.

“These joint observations with the GBT give NASA a unique view of the Artemis II mission,” Will Armentrout, a scientist with the NSF Green Bank Observatory, who helped coordinate Green Bank Telescope operations for this project, said.

The Artemis II mission has been using SCaN’s networks to send vital data back to mission controllers on Earth, officials said. This includes astronaut communications, mission health and safety information, images, video and more.

Artemis II is the first crewed flight test of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The mission sent four astronauts on a lunar flyby to test life-support, communications and other critical systems in deep space. Artemis II is the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972’s Apollo 17, and the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

All other observations of the mission around the world have been passive, officials said, with telescopes picking up the signals that Orion is emitting from its on-board antennas. The Green Bank Telescope, however, has been performing active observations, using radar, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A NASA Deep Space Network antenna in California has beamed radio energy toward the Orion spacecraft, and the Green Bank Telescope was able to pick up the extremely faint reflection of the energy off of the Orion spacecraft.

“Radar lets us pinpoint the trajectory of the spacecraft without relying on its on-board communication antennas,” Armentrout said. “Performing radar observations at the distance of the moon requires powerful transmitters and really, really big radio telescopes, like the Green Bank Telescope, so this partnership lets us spotlight some of the very best space support capabilities that the U.S. has to offer. We’re honored to work with NASA on the first crewed moon mission in decades and look forward to even more collaboration as launch cadence increases!”

By partnering with SCaN, the Green Bank Telescope is continuing its legacy of enabling “groundbreaking space exploration,” from studying distant galaxies to helping guide humanity’s return to the moon, officials said. Most recently, the Green Bank Telescope provided radar observations for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, the world’s first “planetary protection” mission.

“Conversations are currently underway to provide ongoing support to NASA’s Deep Space Network,” a release states. “This collaboration underscores the importance of combining national research facilities with NASA’s spaceflight infrastructure and demonstrating how ground-based radio astronomy assets can directly support human exploration beyond Earth orbit.”