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Scientists have solved how molten "raindrops" in meteorites, called chondrules, were formed — and the discovery reveals key details about Jupiter's origin.

2 Min Read NASA Seeks Volunteers to Track Artemis II Mission On the 19th day of the Artemis I mission, Dec. 4, 2022, a camera mounted on the Orion spacecraft captured the Moon just in frame. Credits: NASA

NASA seeks volunteers to passively track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft as the crewed mission travels to the Moon and back to Earth.

The Artemis II test flight, a launch of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon.

The mission, targeted for no later than April 2026, will rely on NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network for primary communications and tracking support throughout its launch, orbit, and reentry. However, with a growing focus on commercialization, NASA wants to further understand industry’s tracking capabilities.  

This collaboration opportunity builds upon a previous request released by NASA’s SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Program during the Artemis I mission, where ten volunteers successfully tracked the uncrewed Orion spacecraft in 2022 on its journey thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back.

During the Artemis I mission, participants – ranging from international space agencies, academic institutions, commercial companies, nonprofits, and private citizens – attempted to receive Orion’s signal and use their respective ground antennas to track and measure changes in the radio waves transmitted by Orion.

This data will help inform our transition to a commercial-first approach, ultimately strengthening the infrastructure needed to support long-term Moon to Mars objectives.

Kevin Coggins

Deputy Associate Administrator for SCaN

“By offering this opportunity to the broader aerospace community, we can identify available tracking capabilities outside the government,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for SCaN at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This data will help inform our transition to a commercial-first approach, ultimately strengthening the infrastructure needed to support Artemis missions and our long-term Moon to Mars objectives.” 

Read the opportunity announcement here:

Responses are due by 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 27.

NASA’s SCaN Program serves as the management office for the agency’s space communications and navigation systems. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on SCaN’s two networks, the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network, to support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitor Earth’s weather, support lunar exploration, and uncover the solar system and beyond.

Artemis II will help confirm the systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. This mission is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions on the Moon’s surface that will help the agency prepare to send American astronauts to Mars.

Learn More about NASA SCaN Share

Details Last Updated Aug 27, 2025 EditorGoddard Digital TeamContactJoshua A. Finchjoshua.a.finch@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

• Commercial Space
• Artemis
• Artemis 2
• Communicating and Navigating with Missions
• Space Communications & Navigation Program

Explore More 4 min read Volunteers Worldwide Successfully Tracked NASA’s Artemis I Mission Article 2 years ago 2 min read Working in Tandem: NASA’s Networks Empower Artemis I Article 3 years ago 3 min read NASA Seeks Commercial Near Space Network Services

NASA is seeking commercial communication and navigation service providers for the Near Space Network.

Article 2 years ago

2 Min Read NASA Seeks Volunteers to Track Artemis II Mission On the 19th day of the Artemis I mission, Dec. 4, 2022, a camera mounted on the Orion spacecraft captured the Moon just in frame. Credits: NASA

NASA seeks volunteers to passively track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft as the crewed mission travels to the Moon and back to Earth.

The Artemis II test flight, a launch of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon.

The mission, targeted for no later than April 2026, will rely on NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network for primary communications and tracking support throughout its launch, orbit, and reentry. However, with a growing focus on commercialization, NASA wants to further understand industry’s tracking capabilities.  

This collaboration opportunity builds upon a previous request released by NASA’s SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Program during the Artemis I mission, where ten volunteers successfully tracked the uncrewed Orion spacecraft in 2022 on its journey thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back.

During the Artemis I mission, participants – ranging from international space agencies, academic institutions, commercial companies, nonprofits, and private citizens – attempted to receive Orion’s signal and use their respective ground antennas to track and measure changes in the radio waves transmitted by Orion.

This data will help inform our transition to a commercial-first approach, ultimately strengthening the infrastructure needed to support long-term Moon to Mars objectives.

Kevin Coggins

Deputy Associate Administrator for SCaN

“By offering this opportunity to the broader aerospace community, we can identify available tracking capabilities outside the government,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for SCaN at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This data will help inform our transition to a commercial-first approach, ultimately strengthening the infrastructure needed to support Artemis missions and our long-term Moon to Mars objectives.” 

Read the opportunity announcement here:

Responses are due by 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 27.

NASA’s SCaN Program serves as the management office for the agency’s space communications and navigation systems. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on SCaN’s two networks, the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network, to support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitor Earth’s weather, support lunar exploration, and uncover the solar system and beyond.

Artemis II will help confirm the systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. This mission is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions on the Moon’s surface that will help the agency prepare to send American astronauts to Mars.

Learn More about NASA SCaN Share

Details Last Updated Aug 27, 2025 EditorGoddard Digital TeamContactJoshua A. Finchjoshua.a.finch@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

• Commercial Space
• Artemis
• Artemis 2
• Communicating and Navigating with Missions
• Space Communications & Navigation Program

Explore More 4 min read Volunteers Worldwide Successfully Tracked NASA’s Artemis I Mission Article 2 years ago 2 min read Working in Tandem: NASA’s Networks Empower Artemis I Article 3 years ago 3 min read NASA Seeks Commercial Near Space Network Services

NASA is seeking commercial communication and navigation service providers for the Near Space Network.

Article 2 years ago

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman poses for a portrait in a photography studio on March 22, 2024, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Cardman is currently aboard the International Space Station, where she performs research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. Recently, she took a robotics test on a computer for the portion of the CIPHER study that measures cognition, or space-caused changes to her brain structure and function; she also installed high-definition cameras on a spacesuit helmet.

Cardman launched to the space station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Members of Crew-11 will contribute to NASA’s Artemis program by simulating Moon landing scenarios that future crews may encounter near the lunar South Pole.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog.

Image credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman poses for a portrait in a photography studio on March 22, 2024, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Cardman is currently aboard the International Space Station, where she performs research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. Recently, she took a robotics test on a computer for the portion of the CIPHER study that measures cognition, or space-caused changes to her brain structure and function; she also installed high-definition cameras on a spacesuit helmet.

Cardman launched to the space station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Members of Crew-11 will contribute to NASA’s Artemis program by simulating Moon landing scenarios that future crews may encounter near the lunar South Pole.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog.

Image credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

We've rounded up the best Nikon lenses from ultra-wide to telephoto, just what you need to take your photography to the next level.

Scientists have developed a new technique that could help them understand "polka dot" stars using the transits of exoplanets.

After three consecutive and dramatic failed missions, SpaceX has successfully launched Starship to space in a key step for NASA's lunar programme

After three consecutive and dramatic failed missions, SpaceX has successfully launched Starship to space in a key step for NASA's lunar programme

The National Science Foundation is already implementing some recommendations after a recent survey found issues with sexual assault and harassment on Antarctic missions.

Steep population declines in most countries are expected to have negative effects over the next several generations, but adaptation is possible

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image shows high concentrations of chlorophyll in yellow-green along the coastline of South Australia, near Adelaide. Chlorophyll-a is a key indicator of the presence of algae in the ocean.

A happy coincidence and a theory first put forward by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago helped scientists detect faint radiation around a distant supermassive black hole.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) saw the moon pass almost directly in front of the sun and captured it on a coronagraph.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has requested funding to participate in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses).

With the Very Large Telescope in Chile, astronomers have spotted a planet forming around a star 430 light-years away.

The post Baby Planet Clears Gap in Young Protoplanetary Disk appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Scientists studying the famous 'Wow! signal' think they've finally pinpointed a possible origin for the baffling radio transmission detected in 1977.

Where is everybody? For decades that question was merely a part of physics legend, the kind of thing grad students overhear when their advisors take them out to dinner.

The “Wow!” signal has been etched red marker in the memory of advocates for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) since its unveiling in 1977. To this day, it remains one of the most enigmatic radio frequency signals ever found. Now a new paper from a wide collection of authors, including some volunteers, provides some corrections, and some new insights, into both the signal and its potential causes.

A Ph.D. student and his supervisor at Imperial College London have developed a simple way to test for active life on Mars and other planets using equipment already on the Mars Curiosity rover and planned for future use on the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover.