Skip to main content

NASA’s online tool will let you track Artemis I moon mission in real time

NASA's Artemis I mission tracker.
NASA

With just days to go until the launch of NASA’s highly anticipated Artemis I lunar mission, the space agency has revealed how you can track the Orion spacecraft’s progress in real time during its six-week voyage.

After launching atop NASA’s brand-new and extremely powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 29, the Orion spacecraft will fly more than 250,000 miles to the moon before coming within just 62 miles of its surface.

After orbiting the moon for almost a week, the Orion will return to Earth before splashing down off the coast of Baja, California, at the end of an epic 1.3-million-mile mission.

Well aware that plenty of space fans will be keen to access the latest updates from the Artemis I mission, NASA will be launching the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) with all the latest news.

The space agency said the AROW site will offer imagery and data that allow you to “pinpoint where Orion is and track its distance from the Earth, distance from the moon, mission duration, and more.”

It added: “AROW visualizes data collected by sensors on Orion and sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during its flight. It will provide periodic real-time data beginning about one minute after liftoff through separation of the SLS rocket’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage approximately two hours into flight. Once Orion is flying on its own, AROW will provide constant real-time information.”

Commenting on the AROW feature, its creator Seth Lambert said: “This is a really powerful way to engage with the mission and understand the scope of what NASA is trying to accomplish with Artemis I.”

NASA said it will also make Orion’s location data freely available for “data lovers, artists, and creatives to make their own tracking app, data visualization, or anything else they envision.”

It added that while AROW was developed for the upcoming Artemis missions, it may use the same technology to offer visualizations of other space missions in the future.

The AROW site will go live on NASA’s website a day before Artemis I’s launch on August 28.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to watch NASA reveal the Artemis II moon astronauts
NASA's Orion spacecraft as it flies by the moon.

NASA is just a short time away from revealing the four astronauts who will be taking a trip to the moon, possibly next year.

Who Will Fly Around the Moon? Introducing the Artemis II Astronauts LIVE (Official NASA Broadcast)

Read more
Watch NASA’s video teasing the reveal of Artemis moon astronauts
NASA's Orion spacecraft and Earth.

NASA is about to name the four astronauts who'll be sent on a flyby of the moon in a historic mission currently set for next year.

The space agency has just shared a cinematic trailer for the big reveal, which will take place at a special event on Monday, April 3.

Read more
NASA confirms success of Artemis I moon mission
nasa new footage artemis i mission highlights reel orion homecoming

NASA is continuing to analyze data from last year’s Artemis I test mission that sent an uncrewed spacecraft around the moon before returning safely home.

In a meeting on Tuesday, NASA officials confirmed that so far no major problems have surfaced that would prompt it to reschedule Artemis II, the mission set for late 2024 that will follow the same route as the first flight but this time with astronauts on board.

Read more