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The Amateur Radio payload in the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) lunar flyby experiment has gone silent, but the spacecraft itself will likely be in Earth orbit for some time to come.

“It is there for some thousands years, I think, but it might also be ejected in heliocentric orbit if it passes close to the Moon, which is what some simulations show,” said Ghislain Ruy, LX2RG, of Luxspace (LSE…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

The Amateur Radio payload on the Luxspace (LSE) Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) lunar flyby experiment likely will continue to transmit for a few more days while it remains in Earth orbit. The Chinese Chang’e 5T-1 lunar mission payload that it initially accompanied into space on a Long March 3C rocket already has been recovered. The 4M was reported on November 6 to be some 248,000 miles from…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

James Miller, G3RUH, was among a small handful of Amateur Radio operators to receive the X band signal January 21 from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft, some 500 million miles from Earth. Miller used the 20 meter dish at the Bochum Amateur Radio facility in Germany, run by AMSAT-DL and IUZ Bochum Observatory. In an AMSAT-BB post, Miller noted the frequency at the spacecraft was 84…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

In a first-of-a kind for an interplanetary spacecraft, NASA’s Juno spacecraft in October was able to detect Amateur Radio signals transmitting “HI” in coordinated, very slow-speed CW. More than a thousand radio amateurs around the globe greeted Juno October 9 as it looped past Earth for a gravity-assisted boost on its way to Jupiter. Participants were invited to spread out across 10 meters to t…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

Radio amateurs around the globe greeted NASA’s Juno spacecraft October 9 as it looped past Earth for a gravity-assisted boost on its way to Jupiter. Participants were invited to spread out across 10 meters to transmit “HI” in very slow speed CW (1/25 WPM), sending 30 second dits punctuated by 30 second spaces and 90 seconds between the two characters. The experiment involved 16 identical rounds…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

Despite the partial US government shutdown, the NASA Juno spacecraft Amateur Radio fly-by activity Wednesday, October 9, 1800-2040 UTC, is still on, the website containing full details remains available, and the Juno team expects to be able to go forward with the experiment as planned. 

“The laws of gravity have not been suspended, and the flyby will occur as planned,” Don Kirchner, KDØL, a Univ…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

NASA’s Juno spacecraft will fly past Earth on October 9 to receive a gravity assist, putting it on course for Jupiter. To celebrate, the Juno mission is inviting Amateur Radio operators around the world to say “HI” to Juno in a coordinated Morse code message. If enough operators participate, Juno’s “Waves” radio and plasma wave experiment should be able to detect the message. The Say “HI” to Ju…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources