Jakob Rosin, Chairman of the Estonian Blind Union, Board member and Accessibility Working Group leader of the European Blind Union, has developed an accessible real-time tracker for the Artemis II mission, addressing a persistent gap in how space exploration is experienced by blind and partially sighted audiences.
The Artemis programme, led by NASA, marks a strategic return to human lunar exploration. Artemis II is the first crewed mission in this new phase, designed to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a lunar flyby. The mission aims to validate life-support systems, navigation, and deep space operations ahead of future lunar landings. While public interest in these missions is high, access to real-time mission data has remained largely visual, relying on complex charts, maps, and graphical dashboards.
Rosin’s tracker responds directly to this limitation. Built independently, it provides live telemetry data including spacecraft position, velocity, distance from Earth and the Moon, and Deep Space Network tracking status. Crucially, the interface is fully operable via screen reader and keyboard, with structured data replacing inaccessible visualisations.
The most innovative component is the audio radar system. Rather than attempting to replicate visual displays, it reinterprets spatial data through sound. Using stereo audio, the relative positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Orion spacecraft are mapped into a dynamic soundscape. With headphones, users can perceive orientation and movement in real time: Earth positioned to the left channel, the Moon to the right, and the spacecraft shifting audibly between them as it travels. This approach moves beyond compliance and into genuinely alternative representation.
The project reflects a pragmatic and user-led design philosophy. Instead of retrofitting accessibility onto an existing product, it was conceived from the outset to meet non-visual interaction needs. This is evident in the absence of inaccessible charts, the prioritisation of structured textual data, and the integration of auditory feedback as a primary, not secondary, modality.
Freely available and open source, the tracker also has broader implications. It demonstrates that accessibility in complex data environments is not only feasible but can enhance comprehension for a wider audience. For organisations involved in science communication, it sets a clear benchmark: accessibility should not be treated as an add-on, but as a core design parameter.
Rosin’s initiative ultimately highlights a simple point. Access to space exploration should not depend on sight.
Find the tracker at: artemis.jakobrosin.com