NASA calls for volunteers to track Artemis II mission to the moon

On August 27, 2025, NASA announced its search for volunteers to assist in tracking the Artemis II Orion spacecraft during its crewed mission to the moon. This mission is part of a broader objective to explore lunar space for scientific discovery and pave the way for future crewed missions to Mars. Scheduled for launch no later than April 2026, Artemis II aims to take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon. By opening up this volunteer opportunity, NASA hopes to tap into tracking capabilities from outside the government, a strategy emphasized by Kevin Coggins, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program. The agency recently completed unveiling the final hardware piece for the Artemis II mission, highlighting its commitment to push the boundaries of space exploration while encouraging public engagement. Past experiences, such as the successful tracking by volunteers of an uncrewed Orion spacecraft in 2022, have bolstered this current initiative, allowing the agency to further its transition to a commercial-first approach in its missions. Coggins mentioned that the data gathered from the volunteers would play a crucial role in enhancing the infrastructure needed for Artemis missions and establishing the foundation necessary for future moon-to-Mars objectives.