NASA’s Artemis II mission has already made history as it sends astronauts on a deep-space journey around the Moon, but the crew now finds itself dealing with a surprisingly familiar problem as Microsoft Outlook stopped working mid-mission, turning a high-tech spaceflight into a situation that feels oddly close to everyday office struggles.
The four-member crew, including Commander Reid Wiseman, continues its multi-day mission while testing systems in orbit, yet alongside hardware checks and mission-critical tasks, they also reported software issues on board, showing how even advanced space missions still depend on everyday tools that people use on Earth.
Outlook stops working in space
Wiseman raised the issue during communication with mission control, pointing out that both versions of Outlook installed on his device failed to function at the same time, which created confusion as the team tried to manage onboard systems.
“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.” — Reid Wiseman
That statement quickly stood out because Microsoft currently pushes users toward its newer Outlook version while still supporting the classic app, and in this case, both versions failed together during a critical mission phase.
A small issue in a historic mission
Artemis II marks the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis program and the first human journey near the Moon since Apollo 17, and while the spacecraft will not land, it will travel around the Moon before returning to Earth.
Reports from Engadget note that the issue remained unresolved during the livestream, adding to earlier minor setbacks like onboard hardware problems, yet the crew continues operations without major disruption.
The mission continues toward its planned lunar flyby, and despite this unusual glitch, the crew remains focused on completing one of NASA’s most important modern space missions, showing that even in space, software problems still follow.
