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By NASA
2 Min Read Building a Lunar Network: Johnson Tests Wireless Technologies for the Moon
From left, Johnson Exploration Wireless Laboratory (JEWL) Software Lead William Dell; Lunar 3GPP Principal Investigator Raymond Wagner; JEWL intern Harlan Phillips; and JEWL Lab Manager Chatwin Lansdowne. Credits: Nevada Space Proving Grounds (NSPG) NASA engineers are strapping on backpacks loaded with radios, cameras, and antennas to test technology that might someday keep explorers connected on the lunar surface. Their mission: test how astronauts on the Moon will stay connected during Artemis spacewalks using 3GPP (LTE/4G and 5G) and Wi-Fi technologies.
It’s exciting to bring lunar spacewalks into the 21st century with the immersive, high-definition experience that will make people feel like they’re right there with the astronauts.
Raymond Wagner
NASA’s Lunar 3GPP Project Principal Investigator
A NASA engineer tests a backpack-mounted wireless communications system in the Nevada desert, simulating how astronauts will stay connected during Artemis lunar spacewalks. NSPG With Artemis, NASA will establish a long-term presence at the Moon, opening more of the lunar surface to exploration than ever before. This growth of lunar activity will require astronauts to communicate seamlessly with each other and with science teams back on Earth.
“We’re working out what the software that uses these networks needs to look like,” said Raymond Wagner, principal investigator in NASA’s Lunar 3GPP project and member of Johnson Space Center’s Exploration Wireless Laboratory (JEWL) in Houston. “We’re prototyping it with commercial off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software to show what pieces are needed and how they interact.”
Carrying a prototype wireless network pack, a NASA engineer helps test wireless 4G and 5G technologies that could one day keep Artemis astronauts connected on the Moon. NSPG The next big step comes with Artemis III, which will land a crew on the Moon and carry a 4G/LTE demonstration to stream video and audio from the astronauts on the lunar surface.
The vision goes further. “Right now the lander or rover will host the network,” Wagner said. “But if we go to the Moon to stay, we may eventually want actual cell towers. The spacesuit itself is already becoming the astronaut’s cell phone, and rovers could act as mobile hotspots. Altogether, these will be the building blocks of communication on the Moon.”
Team members from NASA’s Avionics Systems Laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA/Sumer Loggins Back at Johnson, teams are simulating lunar spacewalks, streaming video, audio, and telemetry over a private 5G network to a mock mission control. The work helps engineers refine how future systems will perform in challenging environments. Craters, lunar regolith, and other terrain features all affect how radio signals travel — lessons that will also carry over to Mars.
For Wagner, the project is about shaping how humanity experiences the next era of exploration. “We’re aiming for true HD on the Moon,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty mind-blowing.”
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Sumer Loggins
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Last Updated Sep 18, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket poised to send four astronauts from Earth on a journey around the Moon next year may appear identical to the Artemis I SLS rocket. On closer inspection, though, engineers have upgraded the agency’s Moon rocket inside and out to improve performance, reliability, and safety.
SLS flew a picture perfect first mission on the Artemis I test flight, meeting or exceeding parameters for performance, attitude control, and structural stability to an accuracy of tenths or hundredths of a percent as it sent an uncrewed Orion thousands of miles beyond the Moon. It also returned volumes of invaluable flight data for SLS engineers to analyze to drive improvements.
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems integrate the SLS (Space Launch System) Moon rocket with the solid rocket boosters onto mobile launcher 1 inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in March 2025. Artemis II is the first crewed test flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.NASA/Frank Michaux For Artemis II, the major sections of SLS remain unchanged – a central core stage, four RS-25 main engines, two five-segment solid rocket boosters, the ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion stage), a launch vehicle stage adapter to hold the ICPS, and an Orion stage adapter connecting SLS to the Orion spacecraft. The difference is in the details.
“While we’re proud of our Artemis I performance, which validated our overall design, we’ve looked at how SLS can give our crews a better ride,” said John Honeycutt, NASA’s SLS Program manager. “Some of our changes respond to specific Artemis II mission requirements while others reflect ongoing analysis and testing, as well as lessons learned from Artemis I.”
Engineers have outfitted the ICPS with optical targets that will serve as visual cues to the astronauts aboard Orion as they manually pilot Orion around the upper stage and practice maneuvers to inform docking operations for Artemis III.
The Artemis II rocket includes an improved navigation system compared to Artemis I. Its communications capability also has been improved by repositioning antennas on the rocket to ensure continuous communications with NASA ground stations and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 which controls launches along the Eastern Range.
An emergency detection system on the ICPS allows the rocket to sense and respond to problems and notify the crew. The flight safety system adds a time delay to the self-destruct system to allow time for Orion’s escape system to pull the capsule to safety in event of an abort.
The separation motors that push the solid rocket booster away after the elements are no longer needed were angled an additional 15 degrees to increase separation clearance as the rest of the rocket speeds by.
Additionally, SLS will jettison the spent boosters four seconds earlier during Artemis II ascent than occurred during Artemis I. Dropping the boosters several seconds closer to the end of their burn will give engineers flight data to correlate with projections that shedding the boosters several seconds sooner will yield approximately 1,600 pounds of payload to Earth orbit for future SLS flights.
Engineers have incorporated additional improvements based on lessons learned from Artemis I. During the Artemis I test flight the SLS rocket experienced higher-than-expected vibrations near the solid rocket booster attachment points that was caused by unsteady airflow.
To steady the airflow, a pair of six-foot-long strakes flanking each booster’s forward connection points on the SLS intertank will smooth vibrations induced by airflow during ascent, and the rocket’s electronics system was requalified to endure higher levels of vibrations.
Engineers updated the core stage power distribution control unit, mounted in the intertank, which controls power to the rocket’s other electronics and protects against electrical hazards.
These improvements have led to an enhanced rocket to support crew as part of NASA’s Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
The approximately 10-day Artemis II test flight is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign. It is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions on the Moon’s surface that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
News Media Contact
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.631.9126
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Sep 17, 2025 EditorLee MohonContactJonathan DealLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Space Launch System (SLS) Artemis Artemis 2 Exploration Ground Systems Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:01:43 An essential part of ESA’s Space Safety programme is dedicated to getting and keeping Earth’s orbits clean from space debris. In the long run, the Agency aspires to stimulate a true circular economy in space, minimising the impact of spaceflight on Earth and its resources where possible. As part of ESA’s Zero Debris approach, new ESA missions will be designed for safe operations and disposal to stop the creation of new debris by 2030.
ESA has now taken another important step on the road towards sustainability in space with its first in-orbit servicing mission RISE, planned for launch in 2029.
RISE is a commercial in-orbit servicing mission that will demonstrate that it can safely rendezvous and dock to a geostationary client satellite, extending the life of geostationary satellites that need support with attitude and orbit control, but are otherwise in working order.
After verifying that it meets all the performance standards in a first demonstration, prime contractor, operator and co-founder D-Orbit will start commercial life extension services for geostationary satellites.
ESA’s RISE mission marks a promising step towards enhancing in-orbit services and technologies, such as refuelling, refurbishment and assembling – all essential elements for creating a circular economy in space.
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By Amazing Space
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By NASA
4 Min Read La NASA revela los finalistas del concurso de diseño de la mascota lunar de Artemis II
Read this story in English here.
La NASA ya tiene 25 finalistas para el diseño del indicador de gravedad cero de Artemis II que volará con la tripulación de esta misión alrededor de la Luna y de regreso a la Tierra el próximo año.
Los astronautas Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover y Christina Koch de la NASA, y el astronauta de la CSA (Agencia Espacial Canadiense) Jeremy Hansen pronto seleccionarán uno de los diseños finalistas para que les acompañe dentro de la nave espacial Orion como su mascota lunar.
“El indicador de gravedad cero de Artemis II será especial para la tripulación”, dijo Reid Wiseman, comandante de Artemis II. “En una nave espacial llena de equipos y herramientas complejas que mantienen viva a la tripulación en el espacio profundo, el indicador es una forma amigable y útil de resaltar el elemento humano que es tan crítico para nuestra exploración del universo. Nuestra tripulación está entusiasmada con estos diseños provenientes de muchos lugares del mundo y esperamos con interés llevar al ganador con nosotros en este viaje”.
Un indicador de gravedad cero es un pequeño peluche que típicamente viaja con la tripulación para indicar visualmente el momento en que llegan al espacio. Durante los primeros ocho minutos después del despegue, la tripulación y el indicador, que estará situado cerca de ellos, seguirán siendo presionados contra sus asientos por la gravedad y la fuerza de la subida al espacio. Cuando se apaguen los motores principales de la etapa central del cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial (SLS, por sus siglas en inglés), se eliminarán las restricciones de la gravedad, pero la tripulación seguirá atada de manera segura a sus asientos: la capacidad de flotar de su indicador de gravedad cero será la evidencia de que han llegado al espacio.
Artemis II será la primera misión en la que el público haya participado en la creación de la mascota de la tripulación.
Estos diseños, con ideas que abarcan desde versiones lunares de criaturas terrestres hasta visiones creativas sobre la exploración y el descubrimiento, fueron seleccionados entre más de 2.600 propuestas procedentes de más de 50 países, e incluyen diseños de estudiantes desde primaria a secundaria. Los finalistas representan a 10 países, entre los que están Estados Unidos, Canadá, Colombia, Finlandia, Francia, Alemania, Japón, Perú, Singapur y Gales.
Mira aquí los diseños finalistas:
Lucas Ye | Mountain View, California“Rise” Kenan Ziyan | Canyon, Texas“Zappy Zebra” Royal School, SKIES Space Club | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada“Luna the Space Polar Bear” Garden County Schools | Oshkosh, Nebraska“Team GarCo” Richellea Quinn Wijaya | Singapore“Parsec – The Bird That Flew to the Moon” Anzhelika Iudakova | Finland“Big Steps of Little Octopus” Congressional School | Falls Church, Virginia“Astra-Jelly” Congressional School | Falls Church, Virginia“Harper, Chloe, and Mateo’s ZGI” Alexa Pacholyk | Madison, Connecticut“Artemis” Leila Fleury | Rancho Palos Verdes, California“Beeatrice” Oakville Trafalgar School | Oakville, Ontario, Canada“Lepus the Moon Rabbit” Avon High School | Avon, Connecticut“Sal the Salmon” Daniela Colina | Lima, Peru“Corey the Explorer” Caroline Goyer-Desrosiers | St. Eustache, Quebec, Canada“Flying Squirrel Ready for Its Take Off to Space!” Giulia Bona | Berlin, Germany“Art & the Giant” Tabitha Ramsey | Frederick, Maryland“Lunar Crust-acean” Gabriela Hadas | Plano, Texas“Celestial Griffin” Savon Blanchard | Pearland, Texas“Soluna Flier” Ayako Moriyama | Kyoto, Japan“MORU: A Cloud Aglow with Moonlight and Hope” Johanna Beck | McPherson, Kansas“Creation Mythos” Guillaume Truong | Toulouse, France“Space Mola-mola (aka Moon Fish) Plushie” Arianna Robins | Rockledge, Florida“Terra the Titanosaurus” Sandy Moya | Madrid, Colombia“MISI: Guardian of the Journey” Bekah Crowmer | Mooresville, Indiana“Mona the Moon Moth” Courtney John | Llanelli, Wales“Past, Present, Future” En marzo, la NASA anunció que buscaba propuestas de creadores de todo el mundo para el diseño de un indicador de gravedad cero que volaría a bordo de Artemis II, la primera misión tripulada de la campaña Artemis de la NASA. Se pidió a los creadores que presentaran ideas que representaran la importancia de Artemis, la misión, o la exploración y el descubrimiento, y que cumplieran con requisitos específicos de tamaño y materiales. La empresa de crowdsourcing (colaboración abierta) Freelancer sirvió como facilitadora del concurso en nombre de la NASA, a través del Laboratorio de Campeonatos de la NASA, el cual es gestionado por la Dirección de Misiones de Tecnología Espacial de la agencia.
Una vez que la tripulación haya seleccionado un diseño final, el Laboratorio de Mantas Térmicas de la NASA lo fabricará para el vuelo. El indicador estará amarrado dentro de Orion antes del lanzamiento.
La misión, que tendrá alrededor de 10 días de duración, es otro paso adelante hacia misiones en la superficie lunar y sirve como preparación para futuras misiones tripuladas a Marte de la agencia.
Mediante Artemis II, la NASA enviará astronautas a explorar la Luna para llevar a cabo descubrimientos científicos, obtener beneficios económicos y sentar las bases para las primeras misiones tripuladas a Marte.
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