During NASA’s Artemis II flight, commander Reid Wiseman ran into a familiar issue when Microsoft Outlook stopped working on his device. In a moment captured during NASA’s livestream, Wiseman told Mission Control that he could see two versions of Outlook, but neither of them was functioning.
The issue came from Wiseman’s personal computing device, a Microsoft Surface Pro carried onboard the spacecraft. To fix it, Mission Control remotely accessed the device and handled the problem from Earth. Artemis flight director Judd Frieling later explained that situations like this are not unusual. He said Outlook can sometimes run into configuration issues, especially in environments where the network connection is not direct. In this case, the team simply reloaded the Outlook files, which brought everything back to normal.
NASA keeps communication with Artemis II through a combination of its Near Space Network and Deep Space Network. These systems rely on satellites and antennas placed around the world, allowing Mission Control in Houston to stay connected as the spacecraft travels farther away. The team has to switch between these networks as needed, which can occasionally lead to small technical issues like this one.
Along with the Surface Pro, the Artemis II crew is carrying several devices for capturing content and documenting the mission. Their equipment includes Nikon D5 DSLR cameras, a ZCube video encoder, and handheld GoPro cameras that will be used for a Disney and National Geographic documentary. The astronauts were also allowed to bring their phones, which can even be seen stored in their spacesuit pockets.
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