'Deep Space Station 33': NASA is building a new space phone to talk to distant spacecrafts
Produced by Abhinav Yadav
Produced by Abhinav Yadav
NASA’s Deep Space Network is getting a boost. NASA is adding a new antenna dish to its Deep Space Network site in Canberra, Australia. This powerful upgrade will help scientists on Earth stay in touch with spacecraft traveling billions of kilometres away.
The Deep Space Network (DSN) is NASA’s global system for communicating with space missions. It has three main facilities in Canberra (Australia), Barstow (USA), and Madrid (Spain) placed strategically around the world to maintain constant contact with space.
The new dish, called Deep Space Station 33, will be 112 feet (34 metres) wide. It will use a special beam-waveguide system with mirrors that capture and direct signals from space. This will allow NASA to translate tiny radio waves into valuable mission data.
NASA is launching more missions than ever, and the volume of space data is growing fast. This new dish will help support current and future deep space missions, including those to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Canberra is the only station on Earth that can still send commands to Voyager 2, now over 13 billion miles from Earth. Voyager 1 can send data to other DSN stations, but it too relies on Canberra for certain communications.
The new dish is part of NASA’s Aperture Enhancement Program, aimed at improving space communication tech. It will go live by 2029, just in time to support next gen space missions across the solar system.
Even the most advanced spacecraft need a way to call home. NASA’s Deep Space Network is the invisible lifeline connecting us to the farthest corners of space and now it’s getting even better.