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Australian Facilities Will Receive First Signals of Curiosity Rover Landing
With just 3 days to go I am surprised there is no more discussion on the Mars Rover Curiosity's final approach at Mars. Seems Australia will play a role with the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) being the main tracking station for the landing activities. Its 70-m and two 34-m antennas will receive signals from the spacecraft both directly and then relayed through another NASA spacecraft, Mars Odyssey, in orbit around the Red Planet.
The 64-m Parkes telescope will record signals directly from the spacecraft as a backup in case there is a problem with the relaying.
The antenna managed by the European Space Agency (ESA) at New Norcia near Perth in WA will provide extra redundancy. It will receive signals from the spacecraft recorded and re-sent through ESA’s Mars Express satellite, which is in orbit around Mars.
Signals from the Canberra station will be sent directly to mission scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Data from Parkes and New Norcia will be sent later for analysis.
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