What is the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex?
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is a NASA-funded tracking station at Tidbinbilla, near Canberra. Its giant dish antennas communicate with spacecraft exploring the solar system and beyond.
The complex is one of three deep space stations in NASA's Deep Space Network, along with sites in California and near Madrid in Spain. Spaced around the globe, they keep constant contact with spacecraft as Earth rotates.
It is managed by CSIRO on behalf of NASA. Its largest antenna is 70 metres in diameter, the biggest steerable dish in the Southern Hemisphere.
Famous missions
The complex has tracked many missions, including the Voyager probes, Mars rovers and the New Horizons mission to Pluto. Today, Voyager 2 can only be commanded from Canberra because of its position in the southern sky.
During the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, the Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra relayed the first television pictures of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the Moon. Parkes radio telescope in New South Wales also played a key role.
The Canberra Space Centre, the visitor centre, displays a real piece of Moon rock, spacecraft models and exhibits about space exploration. Entry is free.
Did You Know?
The complex's 70-metre dish weighs about 3,000 tonnes yet can be moved precisely to track spacecraft.