Communicating and Navigating with Missions

NASA’s Use of the Radio Frequency Spectrum

As associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate Ken Bowersox puts it, “nothing happens without communications.” And effective communications require the use of radio waves. None of NASA’s exciting science and engineering endeavors would be possible without the use of radio waves to send data, communications, and comma

Posted April 23, 2025

General

Artemis

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

NASA Successfully Acquires GPS Signals on Moon

NASA and the Italian Space Agency made history on March 3 when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to acquire and track Earth-based navigation signals on the Moon’s surface. The LuGRE payload’s success in lunar orbit and on the surface indicates that signals from the GNSS (Global Navigation Satelli

Posted March 4, 2025

People of Goddard

Technology

Shaigh Sisk: Keeping the Wheels Turning in Projects and Pottery

Project support specialist Shaigh Sisk helps keep things running in Goddard's Exploration and Space Communications Projects division - and in her free time, she keeps the pottery wheel turning, fusing science and art in her creations.

Posted February 10, 2025

Artemis

Space Communications Technology

More Than 400 Lives Saved with NASA’s Search and Rescue Tech in 2024

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? NASA’s collaboration with the international satellite-aided search and rescue effort known as Cospas-Sarsat has enabled the development of multiple emergency locati

Posted February 6, 2025

Artemis

Blue Ghost (lander)

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Earth's Moon

Near Space Network

NASA and Italian Space Agency Test Future Lunar Navigation Technology

As the Artemis campaign leads humanity to the Moon and eventually Mars, NASA is refining its state-of-the-art navigation and positioning technologies to guide a new era of lunar exploration.

Posted January 10, 2025

Technology

NASA Directorates

Near Space Network

Space Operations Mission Directorate

NASA Selects Four Commercial Companies to Support Near Space Network

NASA has selected multiple companies to expand the agency’s Near Space Network’s commercial direct-to-Earth capabilities services, which is a mission-critical communication capability that allows spacecraft to transmit data directly to ground stations on Earth.

Posted December 21, 2024

General

NASA Program Aids Pediatric Patients Facing Medical Treatments

As NASA innovates for the benefit of humanity and inspires the world through discovery, the agency launched a new video series specifically designed for use by medical treatment centers across the United States to help reduce anxiety and stress among pediatric patients during treatment.

Posted November 18, 2024

International Space Station (ISS)

Astronauts

Humans in Space

ISS Research

Johnson Space Center

Near Space Network

Sunita L. Williams

Colorado Students to Connect with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station

Students from Colorado will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 14. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media.

Posted November 12, 2024

Ames Research Center