- Artemis II crew reports Microsoft software issue
- An astronaut in Mission Control with none of his Outlook working
- There is no evidence that the problem had a significant impact on the mission.
Artemis II Mission Control, we have a problem – and it’s a problem that almost every Microsoft customer can relate to. Just hours after the spectacular launch of Artemis II, kicking off NASA’s first lunar mission in more than 50 years, astronauts reported a technical issue with Microsoft 365.
As the four crew members flew at 4,275 mph and more than 30,000 miles from Earth, they remained in almost constant contact with NASA mission control. During a conversation, one astronaut on the mission offered this report: “I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither works.”
First, you can be forgiven if you’re surprised that the Orion spacecraft (which was carried into space by the Artemis II mission) uses Microsoft 365 software. However, NASA has been standardizing on Microsoft’s suite of software and services for years, using the platform for productivity, collaboration and, of course, communication. THE The agency even uses Copilot, although it’s unclear whether AI played a role in that mission.
Article continues below
Yes… In case anyone is wondering, Microsoft still aspires to space. pic.twitter.com/vf5b0lQgc7April 2, 2026
Things happen in a very particular way
Back to the non-life-threatening situation aboard the spaceship…
The astronaut asks if NASA wants to “connect remotely and check Optimus and these two Outlooks, that would be great.”
Mission Control records the problem and responds: “We will join your PCD and let you know when we are finished.” »
The reference to “Optimus”, incidentally, referred to a separate issue. The astronaut brought up the two Outlooks as another technical issue to check out while they’re in there.
A PCD is a “personal computing device,” which we assume is a Windows laptop or Surface computer (we assume they use the latter). alongside their iPhones) and, yes, just like in-home tech support, the technician uses remote access to resolve the issue.
As for why there can be “two Microsoft Outlooks” on one device, you can blame Microsoft. A few years ago, Microsoft unveiled the Outlook app for Windows, essentially a renaming of the original Windows Mail app. Once installed, this application simply becomes “Outlook”. But Microsoft 365 customers know that there is already an “Outlook” in the Office 365 suite. So yes, a Windows system could have “two Microsoft Outlooks”.
It is unclear why neither was working on one of Artemis II’s mission computers, although neither Mission Control nor the astronaut seemed particularly concerned. After all, NASA uses Outlook for some communications between itself and astronauts, but not all communications, as evidenced by audio.
The exchange was captured in the early morning hours of April 2 (and seen by tens of thousands of people as NASA livestreamed the entire mission on YouTube), still quite early in the flight, launched about eight hours earlier from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Now we assume that the systems have been rebooted and both Outlooks are working nominally. Of course, we’re sure the Artemis II crew is just as excited as you are to have just one Outlook – and just one that will work for the duration of this historic mission.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this article with their response.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube And TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
