- The Artemis II crew reports a Microsoft software error
- An astronaut told Mission Control that none of their Outlooks were working
- There is no evidence that the problem affected the mission in any meaningful way
Artemis II Mission Control, we have a problem — and it’s a problem that most Microsoft customers can relate to. Just hours after Artemis II’s spectacular launch, kicking off NASA’s first lunar mission in more than 50 years, the astronauts reported a Microsoft 365 technology failure.
As the four crew members flew at 4,275 mph and more than 30,000 miles from Earth, they remained in near-constant contact with NASA Mission Control. During a conversation, a mission astronaut offered this report: “I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither of them work.”
First, you could be forgiven for being 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 across productivity, collaboration and, yes, communication. The the agency even uses Copilot, though it’s not clear if AI played any part in this mission.
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Yes… In case anyone was wondering, Microsoft is still sucking in the space. pic.twitter.com/vf5b0lQgc7April 2, 2026
Things happen in a most peculiar way
Back to the non-life threatening situation on the spacecraft…
The astronaut asks if NASA will “go in and check on Optimus and the two Outlooks, that would be great.”
Mission Control reads the problem and replies, “We’ll join your PCD and let you know when we’re done.”
By the way, the “Optimus” reference referred to a separate issue. The astronaut brought up the two Outlooks as another technical glitch to check while they’re in there.
A PCD is a “Personal Computing Device” which we’re guessing is a Windows laptop or Surface computer (we’re guessing they use these along with their iPhones), and yes, just like tech support at home, the technology uses remote access to solve the problem.
As for why there can be “two Microsoft Outlooks” on one device, you can blame Microsoft. A few years ago, Microsoft unveiled the Outlook for Windows app, essentially a rebranding of the original Windows Mail app. Once installed, that app just becomes “Outlook”. But Microsoft 365 customers know that there is already an “Outlook” in the 365 Office suite. So yes, a Windows system could have “two Microsoft Outlooks.”
Why neither was working on one of Artemis II’s mission computers is unclear, though neither Mission Control nor the astronaut sounded particularly concerned. After all, NASA uses Outlook for some communication between it and the astronauts, but not all communication, as evidenced by the sound.
The exchange was captured in the wee hours of the morning on April 2 (and watched by tens of thousands because NASA is live-streaming the entire mission on YouTube), still fairly early in the flight, which launched about eight hours earlier from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
At this point, we assume that the systems have been rebooted and that both Outlooks are working nominally. Of course, we’re sure the Artemis II crew is just as eager as you are to have just one Outlook — and one that works during this historic mission.
We reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this post with their response.
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