The Deep Space Exploration Society Selected by NASA for Prestigious Volunteer Tracking Program Haswell, Colorado — January 26, 2026
The Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES) — a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to radio astronomy, STEM education, and community science outreach — has been selected by NASA as one of only a few organizations in the United States to participate in a high-profile volunteer tracking initiative supporting the Artemis II mission. DSES is the sole nonprofit organization from Colorado chosen for this international volunteer effort alongside other private and public institutional partners.
Under this program, volunteers from DSES will use their 60-foot radio telescope at the Plishner Radio Telescope site in Kiowa County, Colorado, to passively receive and track radio signals from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it travels around the Moon during the Artemis II mission. Data collected by DSES volunteers will be shared with NASA for analysis, helping to enhance understanding of tracking capabilities and contribute to future deep space exploration.
“This recognition by NASA is a major milestone for DSES and for community-based science,” said Paul Sobon, President of the Deep Space Exploration Society. “Our members have spent years operating radio astronomy equipment, and now we’re contributing to one of NASA’s most ambitious exploration missions ever.”
Founded to restore and operate the historic Plishner Radio Telescope, DSES has built a robust platform for scientific research and public education in radio astronomy.
About the Deep Space Exploration Society
The Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES) is a volunteer-driven nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to practical astronomy, radio science, and STEM education opportunities for students and the public. Located just outside Haswell, Colorado, DSES operates the Plishner Radio Telescope.
To see the document DSES submitted that resulted in our selection click the button below.
The System 1 team has produced new software for steering the dish. It was developed for Artemis-II but will have application far beyond this application. Here is the presentation describing how to use this software for the Artemis-II project.
A key technical question is whether the RF Hamdesign CIR-2320 septum feed, tuned to 2216.5 MHz, requires modification—specifically the addition of a flare—to achieve optimal performance with the DSES dish. The following study addressed that question.
The Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES) participated in the Artemis II tracking campaign between Wed, Apr 1, 2026 and Sat, Apr 11, 2026 using the 60-foot Plishner Radio Telescope. While full mission data capture objectives were not achieved due to a combination of hardware, software, and operational challenges, several successful reception intervals enabled detailed Doppler analysis of the Orion spacecraft signal.
The analysis demonstrates:
- Strong agreement between measured and modeled Doppler signatures using a one-way light-time geometric model
- Residual errors on the order of 4.65 Hz RMS (~0.6 m/s)
- Identification of a ~1.3 ppm frequency bias, consistent with receiver reference uncertainty or signal processing configuration
In addition, the campaign yielded critical insights into:
- Feed system optimization and pointing strategy
- SDR signal chain configuration and Doppler extraction methodology
- Operational coordination and software integration challenges
These results validate the fundamental capability of the DSES system for deep-space Doppler tracking while identifying key areas for improvement in future campaigns.
A full report can be found here.