The Artemis II mission is the first human voyage to the Moon in 50 years, a mammoth undertaking. Nasa has spent billions on the mission, with four brave astronauts taking this journey. Artemis II had a successful launch on April 1, 2026, as the crew embraced a 10-day trip around the Moon. However, later the same day, the crew faced a setback. And no, there was nothing wrong with their ship. The astronauts found themselves helpless when they tried to use Outlook, Microsoft’s email platform.
Just hours after launching into the Earth’s orbit, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman reported two instances where Outlook on the shuttle’s personal computing devices (PCDs) was not working. The PCD device used by Wiseman is said to be a Microsoft Surface Pro.
The astronaut asked for remote assistance from the mission control back on Earth in Houston.
Microsoft Outlook stops working in space
Reid Wiseman said, “I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those are working. If you want to remote in and check Optimus and those two Outlooks that would be awesome.”
It appears that even in space, humans are not immune to technical issues.
Nasa managed to fix the issue by remotely accessing Wiseman’s device. The mission control informed the astronaut, “ “We were able to resolve the issue for Optimus, and for Outlook, we were able to get it open. It will show offline, which is expected.”
Though it is unclear why the Artemis II crew needed to send emails in space.
Internet goes wild over Outlook failure on Artemis II
Users on social media did not hold back from making memes of the entire situation. After all, almost everyone has faced such technical issues right when they needed to use an application like Outlook the most.
One user shared a clip from the Netflix show ‘Space Force,’ where a space mission is interrupted after the computers of mission control start an automatic Windows update. The user wrote, “Microsoft products are so bad they successfully recreated this exact scene.”
Another individual reckoned that Nasa should not have relied on Outlook for such an important mission. The person stated, “Using Outlook in space is wild. Pigeons in spacesuits would be more reliable.”
Here are some of the reactions:
The Artemis II mission faced some other challenges too. NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan stated earlier that the shuttle’s toilet fan was jammed shortly after takeoff. Ground teams worked on instructions to clear the fan and restore full functionality. Backup waste management options were available during the repair period.
Before the launch, Artemis II had already encountered complex technical issues, including hydrogen and helium leaks and a faulty heat shield. The crew successfully completed a translunar injection burn on April 3, accelerating the Orion spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity and enter a direct path to the Moon.
The crew consists of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The mission serves as a critical rehearsal for future lunar landings.
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