\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore Than 400 Lives Saved with NASA\u2019s Search and Rescue Tech in 2024\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ksc-20240225-ph-kaa01-0071orig.jpg?w=1536\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\nNASA Artemis II crew members are assisted by U.S. Navy personnel as they exit a mockup of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean during Underway Recovery Test 11 (URT-11) on Feb. 25, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCredits: <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA\/Kenny Allen<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/sar-saves-2024.png?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nNASA\u2019s Search and Rescue technologies enabled hundreds of lives saved in 2024.<\/div>\nNASA\/Dave Ryan<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDid you know that the same search and rescue technologies developed by NASA for astronaut missions to space help locate and rescue people across the United States and around the world?\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s collaboration with the international satellite-aided search and rescue effort known as Cospas-Sarsat<\/a> has enabled the development of multiple emergency location beacons for explorers on land, sea, and air.\u00a0<\/p>\nOf the 407 lives saved in 2024 through search and rescue efforts in the United States, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) reports<\/a> that 52 rescues were the result of activated personal locator beacons, 314 from emergency position-indicating radio beacons, and 41 from emergency locator transmitters. Since 1982, more than 50,000 lives have been saved across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\nUsing GPS satellites, these beacons transmit their location to the Cospas-Sarsat network once activated. The beacons then provide the activation coordinates to the network, allowing first responders to rescue lost or distressed explorers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ksc-20240225-ph-kaa01-0071orig.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nNASA Artemis II crew members are assisted by U.S. Navy personnel as they exit a mockup of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean during Underway Recovery Test 11 (URT-11) on Feb. 25, 2024, while his crewmates look on. URT-11 is the eleventh in a series of Artemis recovery tests, and the first time NASA and its partners put their Artemis II recovery procedures to the test with the astronauts.<\/div>\nNASA\/Kenny Allen<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Search and Rescue Office, part of NASA\u2019s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation<\/a>) Program, has assisted in search and rescue services since its formation in 1979 Now, the office is building on their long legacy of Earth-based beacon development to support crewed missions to space.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe beacons also are used for emergency location, if needed, as part of NASA\u2019s crew launches to and from the International Space Station, and will support NASA\u2019s Artemis campaign crew recovery preparations during future missions returning from deep space. Systems being tested, like the ANGEL <\/a>(Advanced Next-Generation Emergency Locator) beacon, are benefitting life on Earth and missions to the Moon and Mars. Most recently, NASA partnered with the Department of Defense to practice Artemis II recovery procedures \u2013 including ANGEL beacon activation \u2013 during URT-11<\/a> (Underway Recovery Test 11).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/sar-angel-beacon.jpg?w=514\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nMiniaturized\u202fAdvanced Next-Generation Emergency Locator\u202f(ANGEL) beacons will be attached to the astronauts\u2019 life preserver units. When astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hanse splash back down to Earth \u2014 or in the unlikely event of a launch abort scenario \u2014 these beacons will allow them to be found if they need to egress from the Orion capsule.<\/div>\nNASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe SCaN program at NASA <\/em>Headquarters<\/a> in Washington provides strategic oversight to the Search and Rescue office. <\/em>NOAA manages the U.S. network region for Cospas-Sarsat, which relies on flight and ground technologies originally developed at NASA\u2019s <\/em>Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland.<\/em> U.S. region rescue efforts are led by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, and many other local rescue authorities.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nAbout the Author<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Kendall](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cropped-headshot-300x300.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\n\nKendall Murphy<\/h2>\n<\/div>\nTechnical Writer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nKendall Murphy is a technical writer for the Space Communications and Navigation program office. She specializes in internal and external engagement, educating readers about space communications and navigation technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA\/Kenny Allen<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/sar-saves-2024.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>Did you know that the same search and rescue technologies developed by NASA for astronaut missions to space help locate and rescue people across the United States and around the world?\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s collaboration with the international satellite-aided search and rescue effort known as Cospas-Sarsat<\/a> has enabled the development of multiple emergency location beacons for explorers on land, sea, and air.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of the 407 lives saved in 2024 through search and rescue efforts in the United States, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) reports<\/a> that 52 rescues were the result of activated personal locator beacons, 314 from emergency position-indicating radio beacons, and 41 from emergency locator transmitters. Since 1982, more than 50,000 lives have been saved across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Using GPS satellites, these beacons transmit their location to the Cospas-Sarsat network once activated. The beacons then provide the activation coordinates to the network, allowing first responders to rescue lost or distressed explorers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Search and Rescue Office, part of NASA\u2019s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation<\/a>) Program, has assisted in search and rescue services since its formation in 1979 Now, the office is building on their long legacy of Earth-based beacon development to support crewed missions to space.\u00a0<\/p>\n The beacons also are used for emergency location, if needed, as part of NASA\u2019s crew launches to and from the International Space Station, and will support NASA\u2019s Artemis campaign crew recovery preparations during future missions returning from deep space. Systems being tested, like the ANGEL <\/a>(Advanced Next-Generation Emergency Locator) beacon, are benefitting life on Earth and missions to the Moon and Mars. Most recently, NASA partnered with the Department of Defense to practice Artemis II recovery procedures \u2013 including ANGEL beacon activation \u2013 during URT-11<\/a> (Underway Recovery Test 11).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The SCaN program at NASA <\/em>Headquarters<\/a> in Washington provides strategic oversight to the Search and Rescue office. <\/em>NOAA manages the U.S. network region for Cospas-Sarsat, which relies on flight and ground technologies originally developed at NASA\u2019s <\/em>Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland.<\/em> U.S. region rescue efforts are led by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, and many other local rescue authorities.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Kendall Murphy is a technical writer for the Space Communications and Navigation program office. She specializes in internal and external engagement, educating readers about space communications and navigation technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a><\/figure><\/a><\/figure>About the Author<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\nKendall Murphy<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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