ARTEMIS I

SPACE COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION

COMMUNICATIONS OVERVIEW

On our journey forward to the Moon and on to Mars, 

NASA must test our technologies and capabilities to 

ensure astronaut safety. The Artemis I mission will be 

an uncrewed flight test of the Orion spacecraft that 

places a human-rated crew vehicle in lunar orbit for 

the first time since the Apollo missions of the 1960s 

and 70s. The mission will showcase the capabilities 

of both Orion and the Space Launch System, NASA’s 

powerful new rocket which will launch Artemis 

missions from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Communications services will allow flight controllers 

to send commands to the spacecraft and receive 

data from Orion and the Space Launch System. 

Artemis I will demonstrate NASA’s networks’ 

comprehensive communications services for 

journeys to lunar orbit. The mission relies on NASA’s 

worldwide network infrastructure for seamless 

communications, providing different service levels 

as Orion leaves Earth, orbits the Moon, and returns 

safely home.

ARTEMIS I

NAVIGATION

Navigation services enable flight 

controllers to track where spacecraft 

are along their trajectory through 

space. 

NASA’s Near Space Network has three 

ground stations along Florida’s space coast 

known as the Launch Communications Segment. 

These ground stations will track Artemis during launch 

and early phases of ascent. Additionally, the constellation of 

Tracking and Data Relay Satellites will provide tracking data 

that ensures the mission successfully ascends to orbit and 

returns to Earth.

On the journey to the Moon and in orbit around the Moon, 

the Deep Space Network’s large ground antennas will 

provide primary tracking data. Near Space Network 

ground stations in Chile and South Africa will supplement 

this tracking data. Using these stations, NASA will 

triangulate Orion’s location using a technique called 

three-way Doppler tracking.

NETWORK SUPPORT

FOR ARTEMIS I

NEAR SPACE NETWORK

NASA’s Near Space Network provides a comprehensive suite of communications 

and navigation services through commercial and government-owned, contractoroperated network infrastructure. For Artemis I, the seamless support provided by the 

Near Space Network can be divided into two components: Direct-to-Earth (DTE) and 

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) services.

 NSN DTE

Near Space Network DTE services are provided by a worldwide network of ground stations. 

These stations will provide communications and navigation services during launch and 

navigation services at various points on Artemis I’s journey to the Moon.

 NSN TDRS

The Near Space Network’s TDRS constellation can provide near-continuous communications 

services to spacecraft near Earth. TDRS will play a critical role during launch and low-Earth 

orbit phases of the Artemis I mission as well as during reentry, splashdown, and recovery.

DEEP SPACE NETWORK

The Deep Space Network will handle Artemis I communications beyond Near Space 

Network coverage, en route to and in orbit around the Moon. Additionally, the network 

will facilitate communications during the deployment of CubeSat payloads that will 

provide additional research opportunities for on Artemis I.

COMMUNICATIONS AND

NAVIGATION MILESTONES

ARTEMIS I

Launch

Both the Launch Communications Segment and 

the constellation of Tracking and Data Relay 

Satellites will maintain communication between 

the Space Launch System and Orion. 

Low-Earth Orbit

In low-Earth orbit, NASA’s Near Space Network 

TDRS will maintain continuous communications 

with Orion and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion 

Stage (ICPS), which will accelerate Orion fast 

enough to overcome the pull of Earth’s gravity 

and set it on a precise trajectory to the Moon.

ICPS

Separation

Once Orion no longer needs the ICPS, the Near 

Space Network will monitor telemetry from 

the ICPS until it is out of range. The ICPS will 

continue towards the Moon on a heliocentric 

trajectory, deploying small satellites that provide 

additional science in translunar orbit.

Handover

to DSN

As Orion prepares to leave the area of nearEarth space covered by the Near Space 

Network, network engineers will pass 

communications services to the Deep Space 

Network.

Journey to

the Moon

En route to the Moon, the Deep Space Network 

will be the primary method of communication 

with Earth, with Near Space Network ground 

stations providing supplementary tracking and 

navigation data.

Distant

Retrograde

Orbit

When Orion arrives at the Moon, it will enter a 

distant retrograde orbit, a highly stable orbit 

in which Orion travels opposite the direction 

the Moon travels around Earth. There, NASA 

will continue to test and demonstrate Orion’s 

capabilities.

Return Transit

Returning from the Moon, the Deep Space 

Network will be the primary method of 

communication with Earth, with Near 

Space Network ground stations providing 

supplementary tracking and navigation data.

Return Trajectory

Correction Burn

During the final engine burn that places Orion 

on target to safely enter Earth’s atmosphere, the 

Near Space Network will join the Deep Space 

Network, ultimately taking over communications 

for the remainder of the mission. 

Re-entry

During re-entry, the enormous heat generated 

as Orion encounters the atmosphere turns the 

air surrounding the capsule into plasma. Until 

it dissipates, this can disrupt communications 

with the spacecraft. 

Splashdown

and Recovery

The Near Space Network maintains 

communications through the unfurling of 

parachutes, splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, 

and recovery of the capsule by military and 

NASA professionals. 

SEARCH AND RESCUE

The Orion 

spacecraft is 

equipped with 

an emergency 

beacon 

designed by 

NASA’s Search 

and Rescue 

office. Using 

Cospas-Sarsat, 

the international 

satellite-aided 

search and rescue network, this 

beacon will help NASA to quickly 

locate Orion upon activation of the 

beacon during splashdown or in the 

unlikely event of an abort scenario.

The Search and Rescue office 

has also developed specialized 

emergency beacons for Artemis 

astronauts returning from the Moon. 

Beginning with the Artemis II mission, 

These Advanced Next-Generation 

Emergency Locator (ANGEL) beacons 

will be placed on astronaut life vests. 

They will provide improved location 

accuracy should they need to egress 

from the capsule after splashdown or a 

launch abort.

These beacons use second-generation 

technology that improves on existing, 

publicly available distress beacons. 

NASA and the international search 

and rescue community have passed 

this second-generation technology to 

companies that will manufacture them 

for sale in the coming years.

ARTEMIS MISSION SUPPORT

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) 

program office provides strategic oversight and funding 

to NASA’s networks and to the development of new 

communications and navigation technologies. SCaN will 

support all Artemis missions while providing astronauts 

with revolutionary communications capabilities. 

Artemis II, the first crewed flight of Orion, will return 

astronauts to lunar orbit for the first time since the 

Apollo missions. The mission will include a SCaNdeveloped optical communications terminal that will use 

infrared lasers to enable live, 4K ultra-high-definition 

video from the Moon, as well as enhanced science data 

transmission and more.

SCaN is also developing LunaNet, a flexible lunar 

communications and navigation architecture that 

will play a key role in NASA’s ambitious exploration 

initiatives under the Artemis program. LunaNet 

will allow NASA to extend internet-like service to 

the Moon, provide robust navigation data for lunar 

missions, and improve the situational awareness 

of astronauts establishing a sustainable presence 

off-world.