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ESA Opens Deep Space Antenna in Australia

Posted by michael on from the is-anybody-out-there dept.

Gavinsblog writes "New Scientist is reporting that the European Space Agency has opened the first of its new deep space antennae. It is 35 metres across and can operate at up to 32 Ghz - able to provide a link to spacecraft up to 900 million kilometres away."

21 comments

  1. Pioneer 10... by L.J.+Hanson · · Score: 1

    Any chance of communicating with Pioneer 10 on this thing?

    1. Re:Pioneer 10... by kamukwam · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, These pioneer-probes are much farther away. More like 12 billion kilometers. I think ESA is going to use these antennas for their probes at one of the Lagrange points.

  2. well, by C21 · · Score: 2, Funny

    man, I'd hate to be the guy that has to go up on that thing every day and clean the bird shit off...

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    this is not a sig.
  3. ET by CowboyNick · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is this an upgrade so ET can phone home?

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    -CowboyNick
    1. Re:ET by 56ksucks · · Score: 1

      No, All ET needs is an umbrella, record player, and a Speak n' Spell tied to a tree with a fork stuck in it.

      --

      ---- "Excuse me. Where's the children's gun section?"

  4. Mars on the 'net by CowboyNick · · Score: 1

    I wonder if this could be used to communicate with a satellite that would orbit Mars. It would make it easier to send research data back, and perhaps send another probe.

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    -CowboyNick
    1. Re:Mars on the 'net by barakn · · Score: 1

      You obviously didn't read the article....

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      "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
    2. Re:Mars on the 'net by CowboyNick · · Score: 1

      I did read the article. Now, I may not have understood it correctly though.

      ESA already has a number of ground stations around the world capable of contacting spacecraft that are relatively close to Earth. But the new antenna will provide a link to spacecraft up to 900 million kilometres away, well past the orbit of Jupiter. This capability will be crucial for keeping in touch with a number of planned European missions into deep space.

      So my question was, if we were to put a satellite that would orbit Mars, we would now have a way to communicate with it. Also, if said satellite is able to gather surface, atmosphere, weather data, etc. it would aid us in exploration and possible colonization of Mars. Also, it could provide as a repeater to probes further out than this antenna on earth could reach. Maybe I'm just reading too much into this...

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      -CowboyNick
    3. Re:Mars on the 'net by barakn · · Score: 1
      Are you sure you read it thoroughly?

      The first of the ESA missions, Mars Express, will launch in June 2003 carrying an orbital craft and the British lander Beagle 2.

      There are several problems with turning a Mars probe into a "repeater." Firstly, it's weight would be increased significantly by the extra antennae ('cause one would need to be pointed at Earth, each of the others pointed at the target missions), the extra power source (solar panels?), and computing hardware. The other problem is more significant. Mars and Earth have different orbital periods. Once every 2.1 years or so the Sun will lie between the two planets. Also, probes further out will not have the same period as Mars. There will be points in time during missions when the probe and the Earth are on one side of the solar system and Mars on the other, so the probe and Earth will be closer to each other than the probe is to Mars. An entire fleet of repeaters would be necessary to provide continuous coverage.
      --
      "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
    4. Re:Mars on the 'net by CowboyNick · · Score: 1

      Ok, I didn't realize that the Mars Express is going to stay in orbit. Question for you then, how would we be able to create a reliable connection with Mars if in the future it is colonized?

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      -CowboyNick
    5. Re:Mars on the 'net by barakn · · Score: 1
      A few things...

      1. You can colonize Mars. I'm staying here. Mars has such a weak magnetic field that its surface is bombarded by high-energy ions (cosmic rays, solar wind). As long as you lived 10 meters underground you'd be fine, until you realized you were in a prison of your own making.

      2. Now both NASA AND ESA have reliable connections to Mars. Ground-based antennae are adequate for the vast majority of the time. It's not like you're going to use a data connection to Mars like you use the Internet. Can you imagine playing Quake 15 with your Martian buddies and getting 10 minute lag?

      3. Ok, so maybe eventually there will be a fleet of communication satellites around Mars just like there is around Earth. Then GPS, some secret military satellites, and it would be just like home...

      --
      "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
    6. Re:Mars on the 'net by fstanchina · · Score: 1

      Quake on Mars? Nah, you're gonna playing Doom on Deimos.

  5. Very powerful tool! by JUSTONEMORELATTE · · Score: 4, Funny

    Especially if we discover intelligent life, and we want to offer them Shocking News about how they can Significantly Enlarge Their Breasts

    1. Re:Very powerful tool! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All three of them. Breasts I mean, not aliens.

    2. Re:Very powerful tool! by fstanchina · · Score: 1

      ...or penis.

  6. Pretty much useless unless... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we get alien porn channels with this?

  7. Pretty useless by FannyMinstrel · · Score: 1

    I mean, 900 million KM isn't THAT far in what it's going to be used for.

  8. Only 32GHz? by OutRigged · · Score: 1

    My liquid nitrogen super-cooled P4 3gig runs faster then that!

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    RaGe
    We're all just noise on the wires..
  9. Today on Geraldo... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Lesbian hermaphrodite pornographers kidnapped by teenage Nazi heroin addicts who cheat on their husbands, leading to an overweight illegitimate child who is in desperate need of a makeover by a recently outed homosexual who believes in crystal healing, as practiced by aliens, who abduct the teenage Nazi heroin addicts who, in turn, kidnap the lesbian hermaphrodite pornographers.

  10. No worries there. by phorm · · Score: 1

    Actually, I was wondering about the dangers in standing between the direct transmitting beam of this thing and its intended target. I seem to remember reading that a little 3-4' dish transmitting high-speed internet (it was a /. article about an outdoor conference of sorts) can cause damage if one was to stand too close in front of the dish.

    Would this this cause cancer, or perhaps just barbecue any little birdies that decide to land on it near the focal point?