NASA has opened a new Mission Evaluation Room (MER) at its Johnson Space Center to provide in-depth monitoring and data analysis for the Orion spacecraft ahead of the Artemis 2 mission, its first crewed flight around the moon.

The MER, staffed 24/7 by NASA, Lockheed Martin, ESA, and Airbus engineers, will complement the main flight control room by diagnosing issues, comparing real-time data with expected performance, and ensuring crew safety.

Artemis 2, planned no earlier than February 2026, will test this system, paving the way for Artemis 3, which aims to return astronauts to the moon and establish a sustained lunar presence, Space.com has reported.