The Goonhilly Earth Station will play a role in NASA’s historic Artemis II mission by passively tracking the Orion spacecraft as it orbits the Moon and returns to Earth.
As the Artemis mission prepares to return humans to lunar orbit for the first time in more than 50 years, Goonhilly will be tasked with tracking the Orion spacecraft as it blasts through space.
The UK is demonstrating its ability to support deep space missions from mainland Britain by tracking the activities of the world’s first commercial deep space ground station, based in Cornwall.
Goonhilly’s leading role in the NASA Artemis mission
2022, Goonhilly Earth Station provided critical communications and tracking support to NASA’s Artemis I.
The facility utilized a 32-meter GHY-6 antenna and a team of experts to track the mission’s unmanned Orion spacecraft and communicate with the six CubeSats launched on the mission.
In Artemis II, the chase focuses on the manned Orion spacecraft’s journey beyond low-Earth orbit, its flight around the moon, and its return to Earth. This commemorates humanity’s first manned mission to the moon in more than half a century.
UK Space Secretary Liz Lloyd said: “From broadcasting the Apollo 11 moon landing worldwide in 1969 to now supporting NASA’s return to the moon with Artemis II, Goonhilly’s rich heritage in space communications continues to inspire.
“It’s great to see Cornwall once again at the heart of a truly historic moment in human spaceflight.”
Important research on space weather forecasting
In parallel, Goonhilly is working with the UK Space Agency and NASA to explore downlink solutions for near real-time space weather measurements enabled by NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).
This new solar physics observatory is designed to study the acceleration of particles and their interface into interstellar space, while also providing observations of solar wind and space weather from Lagrangian Point 1 (L1) between the Sun and Earth.
Matthew Cosby, CTO of Goonhilly Earth Station, explained: “Artemis II is an important milestone in humanity’s return to the moon and we are proud that the capabilities developed here in Cornwall are contributing to that mission.
“From our site, we will support tracking of the Orion spacecraft and demonstrate readiness for future manned Artemis missions. At the same time, we are positioning the UK to play a key role in NASA’s long-term Moon to Mars exploration strategy.”
The UK plays a key role in the global space sector
The mission also included a significant UK contribution, with Imperial College London designing and building the Magnetometer (MAG), which measures the magnetic field around the probe in the heliosphere, one of IMAP’s 10 instruments.
IMAP and its I-ALIRT (IMAP Active Link for Real Time) capabilities are making important contributions to the growing scientific fleet of spacecraft monitoring space weather.
The data collected by these missions plays a critical role in NASA’s Moon-to-Mars Architecture, a long-term framework that supports the Artemis program and future human exploration beyond the Moon.
Together these activities will highlight the UK’s growing contribution to international space exploration and strengthen Cornwall’s position as a hub for advanced space and satellite communications.
Goon Hilly Earth Station continues to play a vital role in space exploration
Goonhilly Earth Station is one of a limited number of organizations around the world with the necessary infrastructure and expertise to support deep space communications.
From its historic role in broadcasting the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 to supporting modern-day missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, the site continues to play a vital role in human space exploration.
Mr Lloyd concluded: “This partnership with NASA shows what British expertise and innovation can achieve on the world stage, while also creating skilled jobs and growth opportunities right here in the UK.”
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