Green Bank Telescope Tracks Artemis 2 Orion at 213,000 Miles, Capturing Image After 5 Days
Updated
Updated · Space.com · May 17
Green Bank Telescope Tracks Artemis 2 Orion at 213,000 Miles, Capturing Image After 5 Days
2 articles · Updated · Space.com · May 17
Five days of observations let the NSF Green Bank Telescope track Artemis 2's Orion spacecraft around the moon and capture a pixelated image from more than 213,000 miles away.
0.2 millimeters per second was the tracking accuracy versus NASA's projected motion, according to Green Bank Observatory director Anthony Remijan, underscoring the precision of the West Virginia radio telescope.
The 485-foot, 17-million-pound telescope is the largest moving structure on land, and NSF said the Orion campaign shows it could support future NASA and commercial space missions.
Green Bank previously aided NASA's 2022 DART asteroid-deflection mission, giving the latest Orion work added weight as a demonstration of inter-agency spaceflight support.
Why is a massive ground telescope still vital for navigating our most advanced deep space missions?
How will this tracking technology be commercialized to support the upcoming wave of private moon missions?
Tracking Artemis II’s Historic Lunar Flyby: The Green Bank Telescope’s Unprecedented Role in Human Space Exploration
Overview
In April 2026, Artemis II made history as the first crewed spacecraft to journey to the Moon in over fifty years. The Orion capsule, named Integrity, carried four astronauts on a 10-day lunar flyby, launching from Kennedy Space Center and traveling 695,000 miles before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. During the mission, the Orion spacecraft reached speeds of 25,000 mph as it reentered Earth's atmosphere. This successful mission not only marked a major milestone in human space exploration but also demonstrated the capabilities of modern spacecraft and mission planning.