New Norcia Deep Space Ground Station
The New Norcia Deep Space Ground Station is 130 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia. It is one of three deep space stations in the European Space Agency's (ESA) tracking station network; the other two are in Cebreros, Spain, and Malargüe, Argentina.
What's its purpose?
It supports ESA missions which investigate our Solar System, observe our galaxy and Universe. It keeps track of their whereabouts. It can also issues commands, and reliably receives the satellites scientific data, which is collected hundreds of millions of kilometres away from Earth.
With which mission does it communicate?
Bepi Colombo: It was launched in October 2018 and is on its way to explore Mercury – the closest planet to our Sun – where it will endure temperatures in excess of 350°C
Mars Express: It s currently orbiting the Red Planet collecting information about its geology, atmosphere, surface environment, history of water and potential for life
ExoMar Trace Gas Orbiter: It is sampling the Martian atmosphere for methane and other atmospheric gases that are present in small concentrations and performing a vital data relay function for rovers and landers on the surface
Gaia: It is a mission which was launched in 2013 to create the most precise three-dimensional map of the billions of stars within our Milky Way galaxy.
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