- The Artemis II team reports a software bug to Microsoft
- One astronaut in Mission Control said none of their Outlooks were working
- There is no evidence that the matter affected the mission in any meaningful way
Artemis II Mission Control, we have a problem – and it’s one that pretty much every Microsoft customer can relate to. Hours after the dramatic launch of Artemis II, kicking off NASA’s first lunar mission in more than 50 years, astronauts reported a Microsoft 365 tech glitch.
As the four crew members fly at 4,275mph and more than 30,000 kilometers from Earth, they are in almost constant communication with NASA Mission Control. During a certain conversation, the mission spacecraft gave this report: “I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one is working.”
First, you could be forgiven for being surprised that the Orion spacecraft (carried by the Artemis II spacecraft) uses Microsoft 365 software. However, NASA has been anchored on Microsoft software and services for years, using the platform for all products, collaboration, and, yes, communication. I the agency even uses Copilot, though it’s not clear if AI played a part in the project.
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Well… In case anyone was wondering, Microsoft is still pulling in the gap. pic.twitter.com/vf5b0lQgc7April 2, 2026
Things are happening in an unusual way
Back to the non-life threatening situation in space…
The astronaut asks if NASA wants to “come in and test Optimus and those two Outlooks, that would be great.”
Mission Control closes the matter and replies, “We’ll join your PCD and let you know when we’re done.”
The “Optimus” reference, by the way, was referring to a different story. The astronaut cited two Outlooks as another technical issue to check while there.
PCD is “Personal Computing Device,” which we’re guessing is a Windows laptop or Surface computer (we’re guessing they use those. aside from their iPhones), and, yes, like tech support at home, tech uses remote access to deal with the problem.
As for why there might be “two Microsoft Outlooks” on one device, you can blame Microsoft. A few years ago, Microsoft introduced the Outlook application for Windows, which is a rebranding of the original Windows Mail application. Once installed, that application becomes “Outlook.” But Microsoft 365 customers know that there is already “Outlook” in the 365 Office suite. So, yes, a Windows system can have “two Microsoft Outlooks.”
Why it didn’t work on one of Artemis II’s mission computers is unclear, although neither Mission Control nor the astronauts sounded concerned. After all, NASA uses Outlook for some communication between itself and the astronauts, but this is not the case everything communication, as evidenced by sound.
The exchange was recorded at dawn on April 2 (and witnessed by tens of thousands because NASA broadcasts the entire mission live on YouTube), very early in the flight, which was launched about eight hours earlier from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
At this point, we are assuming that the systems have been rebooted, and that both Outlooks are working nominally. Of course, we’re sure the Artemis II team is worried about how you’d like to have one Outlook – and one that works for the time of this landmark project.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this post with their response.
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