Watching the Artemis II Launch From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
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Watching the Artemis II Launch From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
PIA26743
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Watching the Artemis II Launch From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
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Staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California watch the launch of the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026, at the Space Flight Operations Facility, which operates the Deep Space Network (DSN). Soon after launch, the Artemis II crew communicated with the Near Space Network while they were close to Earth. Later, communications were handed off to the DSN as the Orion capsule continued its journey into deep space.
The DSN comprises three complexes in Goldstone, California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia. Each complex has several radio frequency antennas that communicate with dozens of spacecraft exploring the solar system in addition to the Artemis II mission.
The DSN is managed by JPL for the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation program, which is located at NASA Headquarters within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. The DSN allows missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft. JPL is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA.
A container of “lucky peanuts” sits above workstations within the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shortly before the launch of the Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026. Eating peanuts before launches and other major mission events is a longstanding tradition at JPL.
The Space Flight Operations Facility operates the DSN, which comprises three complexes in Goldstone, California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia. Each complex consists of several radio frequency antennas that communicate with dozens of spacecraft exploring the solar system in addition to the crewed Artemis II mission.
The DSN is managed by JPL for the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation program, which is located at NASA Headquarters within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. The DSN allows missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft. JPL is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA.
Supporting Artemis II From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
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Supporting Artemis II From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
PIA26741
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Supporting Artemis II From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility
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The Artemis II mission patch appears in the center screen of the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on April 1, 2026, shortly before the mission launched to the Moon. A graphical representation of the antennas of the agency’s Deep Space Network (DSN), left, indicates which antennas are currently sending and receiving data, highlighted in white.
Shortly after liftoff at 6:35 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, initial Artemis II communications were handled by the agency’s Near Space Network. Then, the DSN acquired signal, marking the first time in over 50 years that the network would be communicating with a crewed spacecraft traveling through deep space.
The Space Flight Operations Facility operates the DSN, which comprises three complexes in Goldstone, California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia. Each complex consists of several radio frequency antennas that communicate with dozens of spacecraft exploring the solar system in addition to the Artemis II mission.
The DSN is managed by JPL for the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation program, which is located at NASA Headquarters within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. The DSN allows missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft. JPL is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA.
Snow covers large areas of southern Argentina’s high plains in this image acquired on April 3, 2026, by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
On the eastern, arid side of the Andes, the plains of southern Argentina stretch from the mountains to the Atlantic coast. The landscape often appears dry and brown, interrupted by colorful glacier-fed lakes, but a storm in early April 2026 blanketed swaths of the land in white. The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the snowy Patagonian Desert on the morning of April 3.
Early fall has been wetter than normal in southern Patagonia, said atmospheric scientist René Garreaud of the Universidad de Chile, noting that satellite-based estimates showed above-average precipitation from late March through early April. Much of the region’s precipitation tends to fall on the western, windward side of the Andes, he said. “But strong winds are capable of blowing some snow east into the Argentinian side, as beautifully reflected in the MODIS image.”
Snow lines a valley at the outlet of Lago Argentino in this image acquired on April 3, 2026, by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
Snow clings to the higher elevations, while valleys draining the large glacial lakes are bare. In this detailed Landsat image, a stark snow line appears along the outlet of Lago Argentino. Also note the color of the water. Lago Argentino and other nearby lakes contain an abundance of fine sediment, or glacial flour, pulverized by southern Patagonia’s plentiful glaciers. This suspended sediment makes the lakes appear milky blue or turquoise.
Though snow was widespread across the desert after the early-season storm, the wintry splendor was fleeting. A satellite view from the afternoon of April 4 showed that snow had melted from all but the highest mountain areas.
Twin NASA Control Rooms Support Artemis Safety, Success
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Twin NASA Control Rooms Support Artemis Safety, Success
Twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are actively supporting real-time mission operations in lunar orbit as part of the agency’s Artemis II mission, helping ensure astronaut safety and mission success as the crew prepares to return to Earth Friday, April 10.
The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. While the spaces look nearly identical, the two are more like fraternal twins in their focus areas: LUCA primarily supports Artemis science operations, while LESA will provide engineering support for landing astronauts on the Moon.
LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) at NASA Marshall is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations.
NASA/Charles Beason
“The Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall can be adapted to the needs of the agency’s missions, and LUCA and LESA are some of our newest configurable control rooms for the Artemis campaign,” said Harish Chandranath, Payload and Mission Operations Division Human Landing Systems project lead at Marshall. “In addition to supporting Artemis, our Huntsville Operations Support Center teams also support the Commercial Crew Program, the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, and International Space Station science operations.”
Support center services include work to manage spacecraft command and telemetry, local and remote voice services for international connections, live and recorded video services, and a telescience resource kit – special software that makes sure two computers far apart can communicate without missing any information and without human help. All Huntsville Operations Support Center services can be tied into both the LUCA and LESA rooms, giving operators the capability to use data and communicate with scientists and experts around the world.
Support engineers will use the LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) at NASA Marshall to monitor human landing system (HLS) for the first crewed Artemis missions.
NASA/Charles Beason
During Artemis II, teams in LUCA are supporting first-of-their-kind science operations designed to better understand the effects of deep space – such as microgravity and radiation – on crew physiology, immune response, and performance. The data gathered during the mission will inform future crewed flights to the Moon.
Meanwhile, teams in LESA are observing Artemis II mission operations in real time, which is a critical opportunity to refine processes and prepare for future crewed landings on the Moon’s surface. For Artemis missions, members of NASA’s Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – including engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will operate from LESA to monitor lander systems and support key decision-making.
Through the Artemis program, NASA is returning humans to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic opportunity, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.
