Many a frustrated user has sworn they'll launch Microsoft Outlook into space, but NASA has actually done it – on a journey around the Moon, where it's now causing problems for astronauts.

The astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft currently [1]circling the Earth are taking care of a bunch of housekeepign tasks, including getting their devices working. Judging by some space-to-ground communications with controllers at Houston, it isn't going well.

Users fume at Outlook.com email 'carnage' [2]READ MORE

NASA has helpfully provided a [3]YouTube channel showing live views from the Orion spacecraft, as well as snippets of communication. During this stream, one of the astronauts can be heard first asking for help with network connectivity (IT support staff will be delighted to know that one troubleshooting step involves turning the device off and on) before [4]telling controllers , "I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working."

Multiple Outlooks is something that is all too familiar to many Windows users. A year ago, the acceptable face of development at Microsoft, Scott Hanselman, [5]parodied the situation by listing some tongue-in-cheek variants to go with Outlook (Classic) and Outlook (New). How about Outlook (Zero Sugar), Outlook (Caffeine Free), and so on? The Orion 'nauts could well be looking at Outlook (Deep Space), Outlook (Low Earth Orbit), or even Outlook (Tentacle Edition).

And, for at least one of the four Artemis II crew members, none of the Outlooks is working.

[6]Microsoft breaks Microsoft account sign-ins in Windows 11 with latest update

[7]Perplexity: Everything is Computer, everything is AI, Computer is everything, AI is us

[8]Microsoft kicks new Outlook opt-out deadline down the road to 2027

[9]Microsoft to auto-launch Copilot in Edge whenever you click a link from Outlook

Software failures in space are nothing new. The first commander of the International Space Station (ISS), Bill Shepherd, complained about repeated failures trying to run an application known as "Crew Squawk," which was used to log comments and complaints. His experience can be found in James Oberg's book, [10]Star Crossed Orbits , in which the frustrated Space Shuttle veteran wrote, "We are able to log in, but the program either locks up or won't launch when we try to run it ... We would like to 'squawk' the crew squawk for starters."

A quarter of a century later, Shepherd's experience is eerily familiar to users of Outlook, either in space or on the ground.

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To be clear, some temporary bad behavior from Outlook will not impact the mission and, thanks to the power of off-world remote access, we're confident the issue was resolved. However, to mangle an overused phrase: "In space, nobody can hear you scream 'Outlook! Noooooooo!'" ®

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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/02/artemis_ii/

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/04/users_fume_at_outlookcom_email/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/live/6RwfNBtepa4

[4] https://bsky.app/profile/nikigrayson.com/post/3miik2wzosk25

[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/25/too_many_outlooks/

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/20/microsoft_account_not_working_have/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/12/perplexity_extends_cloud_computer_to_enterprise/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/06/microsoft_outlook_migration_postponed/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/26/copilot_pane_edge_outlook/

[10] https://search.worldcat.org/title/Star-crossed-orbits-:-inside-the-U.S.-Russian-space-alliance/oclc/47297694

[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ac6SoRh1M44NUIw8o0CezgAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/