NASA to Fly Saudi Arabia CubeSat Aboard Artemis II Test Flight

NASA and the Saudi Space Agency have signed an agreement for a CubeSat to fly on NASA’s Artemis II test flight. President Donald J. Trump, alongside His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced the agreement Tuesday in Riyadh as part of an ongoing trip to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Space Agency’s CubeSat will measure aspects of space weather at a range of distances from Earth and deploy in high Earth orbit from a spacecraft adapter on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket after Orion is safely flying on its own with its crew of four astronauts.

NASA is working with several international space agencies to fly CubeSats aboard Artemis II, which provides an opportunity for the countries to access the high Earth orbit environment and fly payloads as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign. NASA also has agreements with German space agency DLR and the Korea AeroSpace Agency for CubeSats to hitch a ride to space during Artemis II.

CubeSats are about the size of a shoebox and contain technology demonstrations or investigations with the potential to gather information to improve understanding of the space environment. The Saudi Space Agency CubeSats will collect data on space radiation, solar X-rays, solar energetic particles, and magnetic fields.

While the CubeSats will detach from the rocket to study the environment around Earth, the crew in Orion will continue on and venture around the Moon and back over the course of a 10-day journey. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.