Heres How to Track the Artemis II Mission in Real T...

What’s Happening

Real talk: The tool will let you track NASAs modern lunar program during its 10-day flight around the moon and back again.

More than half a century after astronauts last left footprints on the lunar surface, humanity is preparing to return to the moon. The excitement surrounding NASA s Apollo program once captivated the world, and now NASA hopes to rekindle that same sense of wonder with its modern lunar effort, the Artemis program. (plot twist fr)

NASA s Artemis II launch is scheduled for the first week of April .

The Details

It ll be the first human mission to the moon since 1972, and it should be quite the achievement for the Artemis program. Now, NASA has dropped a new tool that lets the public track Artemis II in real time.

The Artemis program is NASA s long-term effort to return humans to the moon and establish a sustained presence there for the first time since the Apollo program. The program aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, develop new technologies for long-term exploration and use the moon as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.

Why This Matters

The Artemis Real-time Orbit site, dubbed AROW, is already available to the public, although there isn t much to see since the launch is still a few weeks away. It s also available directly from the NASA app if you re using a mobile device. The site lets the public visualize data collected Orion and sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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Key Takeaways

• The site is simple to navigate.
• You ll see a visual representation of Artemis II s progress, including its speed, distance from Earth and distance to the moon.
• It works much like Google Star Map and other stargazing apps that use similar technology.

The Bottom Line

It works much like Google Star Map and other stargazing apps that use similar technology. According to NASA, tracking will be available once the Orion capsule separates from the rocket s upper stage, which is expected about 3 hours after the upcoming April launch.

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