Story highlights This is the 62nd year of the program's existence
It began because of a typo in a store ad
(CNN) The US military command that is charged with protecting the airspace for North America is on alert this Christmas weekend for a man with a white beard and a red suit.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is preparing to track a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer around the world as it heads for US airspace Sunday night.
NORAD said in a statement that starting at 2:01 a.m. ET on December 24, the public can access its official Santa Tracker to watch Santa Claus prepare for his voyage. Once Santa takes flight, the public can track his whereabouts and access NORAD's "Santa Cams" as he journeys around the world to bring joy to good boys and girls. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will participate in phone calls, the White House said.
Starting at 6 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve, the public can also call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) and speak live with NORAD trackers. People stuck in the car on the way to Grandmother's house, and with an OnStar subscription, can access the tracker by hitting their OnStar button.
Marine Col. Bob Brodie of the 601st Air Operations Center said fighter jets will "fly along (Santa's) wing" in a "close escort," and that the center will "monitor him with our satellites and even have infrared trackers to follow Rudolph."
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Every Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) deploys its cutting-edge technologies to track Santa Claus‘ movements as he scrambles to deliver presents to children around the world.
A joint Canadian-American venture, NORAD’s day job is to provide air security and aerospace warning services. But come the holiday season, the organization takes on the added responsibility of providing minute-by-minute updates on Santa’s whereabouts.
READ MORE: ‘I do not live in Canada,’ says Santa Claus, challenging government’s claim
This year, Canadians can keep tabs on Santa’s journey on the 2017 NORAD Santa Tracker website and via NORAD’s official Santa Tracker app, available for Apple, Android and Windows devices.
Google also offers its own Santa-tracking website, complete with a variety of games and an advent calendar.
But if you’d rather keep it old school, you can simply dial 1-877-HI-NORAD to speak to a volunteer.
But how exactly does NORAD keep track of Santa’s magical sleigh? Thanks to Rudolph, and a little technology, the process is quite simple.
WATCH: Santa tracker update: Santa arrives in Australia, flies over Sydney Opera House
NORAD says its command centre’s Defense Support Program satellites use an infrared sensor to detect heat signatures from Rudolph’s nose to provide accurate tracking of the sleigh.
The NORAD Santa Tracker project began after an advertisement misprinted a telephone number for kids to reach Santa, causing kids to call the commander-in-chief of the now-defunct Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) back in 1955
It may have been an inconvenience at the time, but it sparked an annual tradition that was taken over by NORAD in 1958.
WATCH: Santa begins his journey
This year, NORAD’s Santa Tracker efforts will kick off at 2 a.m. ET on Dec. 24. Santa’s sleigh route will see him head south from the North Pole before travelling west through Asia, down through Africa and then north through Europe before making the trans-Atlantic journey to visit North and South America.
You can join the countdown by following the NORAD Santa Tracker Facebook and Twitter pages.
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