PITTSBURGH — University of Pittsburgh students are getting a chance of a lifetime to be part of the Artemis II mission. They have been tracking the Orion spacecraft, and Channel 11 got to see them in action Thursday morning.
Pitt is one of eight schools across the world that NASA chose to track it.
Engineering students and the Panther Amateur Radio Club were on the roof of Benedum Hall around 4 a.m. They built an antenna to pick up radio signals from the spacecraft.
“They have the opportunity to take all of what we taught them, all that theory, and put it to practice to try to track astronauts in the spacecraft traveling to the moon and back,” said Sam Dickerson, electrical and computer engineering associate professor.
All data they collect will be sent to NASA as part of a program to help them understand how educational institutions can assist with future space programs.
The Artemis II astronauts are expected to return to Earth on Friday evening.
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