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By NASA
Main Takeaways:
New 66-foot-wide antenna dishes will be built, online, and operational in time to provide near-continuous communications services to Artemis astronauts at the Moon later this decade. Called LEGS, short for Lunar Exploration Ground Sites, the antennas represent critical infrastructure for NASA’s vision of supporting a sustained human presence at the Moon. The first three of six proposed LEGS are planned for sites in New Mexico, South Africa, and Australia. LEGS will become part of NASA’s Near Space Network, managed by the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program and led out of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Background:
NASA’s LEGS can do more than help Earthlings move about the planet.
Three Lunar Exploration Ground Sites, or LEGS, will enhance the Near Space Network’s communications services and support of NASA’s Artemis campaign.
NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program maintains the agency’s two primary communications networks — the Deep Space Network and the Near Space Network, which enable satellites in space to send data back to Earth for investigation and discovery.
Using antennas around the globe, these networks capture signals from satellites, collecting data and enabling navigation engineers to track the mission. For the first Artemis mission, these networks worked in tandem to support the mission as it completed its 25-day journey around the Moon. They will do the same for the upcoming Artemis II mission.
To support NASA’s Moon to Mars initiative, NASA is adding three new LEGS antennas to the Near Space Network. As NASA works toward sustaining a human presence on the Moon, communications and navigation support will be crucial to each mission’s success. The LEGS antennas will directly support the later Artemis missions, and accompanying missions like the human landing system, lunar terrain vehicle, and Gateway.
The Gateway space station will be humanity’s first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.NASA “One of the main goals of LEGS is to offload the Deep Space Network,” said TJ Crooks, LEGS project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The Near Space Network and its new LEGS antennas will focus on lunar missions while allowing the Deep Space Network to support missions farther out into the solar system — like the James Webb Space Telescope and the interstellar Voyager missions.”
The Near Space Network provides communications and navigation services to missions anywhere from near Earth to 1.2 million miles away — this includes the Moon and Sun-Earth Lagrange points 1 and 2. The Moon and Lagrange points are a shared region with the Deep Space Network, which can provide services to missions there and farther out in the solar system.
An artist’s rendering of a lunar terrain vehicle on the surface of the Moon.NASA The LEGS antennas, which are 66 feet in diameter, will be strategically placed across the globe. This global placement ensures that when the Moon is setting at one station, it is rising into another’s view. With the Moon constantly in sight, the Near Space Network will be able to provide continuous support for lunar operations.
How it Works:
As a satellite orbits the Moon, it encodes its data onto a radio frequency signal. When a LEGS antenna comes into view, that satellite (or rover, etc.) will downlink the signal to a LEGS antenna. This data is then routed to mission operators and scientists around the globe who can make decisions about spacecraft health and orbit or use the science data to make discoveries.
The LEGS antennas are intended to be extremely flexible for users. For LEGS-1, LEGS-2, and LEGS-3, NASA is implementing a “dual-band approach” for the antennas that will allow missions to communicate using two different radio frequency bands — X-band and Ka-band. Typically, smaller data packets — like telemetry data — are sent over X-band, while high-resolution science data or imagery needs Ka-band. Due to its higher frequency, Ka-band allows significantly more information to be downlinked at once, such as real-time high-resolution video in support of crewed operations.
LEGS will directly support the Artemis campaign, including the Lunar Gateway, human landing system (HLS), and lunar terrain vehicle (LTV).NASA Further LEGS capacity will be sought from commercial service providers and will include a “tri-band approach” for the antennas using S-band in addition to X- and Ka-band.
The first LEGS ground station, or LEGS-1, is at NASA’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico. NASA is improving land and facilities at the complex to receive the new LEGS-1 antenna.
The LEGS-2 antenna will be in Matjiesfontein, South Africa, located near Cape Town. In partnership with SANSA, the South African National Space Agency, NASA chose this location to maximize coverage to the Moon. South Africa was home to a ground tracking station outside Johannesburg that played a role in NASA’s Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s. The agency plans to complete the LEGS-2 antenna in 2026. For LEGS-3, NASA is exploring locations in Western Australia.
These stations will fully complement the existing capabilities of the Near and Deep Space Networks and allow for more robust communications services to the Artemis campaign.
The LEGS antennas (similar in appearance to this 20.2-meter CPI Satcom antenna) will be placed in equidistant locations across the globe. This ensures that when the Moon is setting at one station, it will be rising into another’s view. With the Moon constantly in sight, NASA’s Near Space Network will be able to support approximately 24/7 operations with Moon-based missions.CPI Satcom CPI Satcom is building the Lunar Exploration Ground Site (LEGS) antennas for NASA. The antennas will look very similar to the 20-meter antenna pictured here. CPI Satcom The Near Space Network is funded by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office at NASA Headquarters in Washington and operated out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
About the Author
Kendall Murphy
Technical WriterKendall Murphy is a technical writer for the Space Communications and Navigation program office. She specializes in internal and external engagement, educating readers about space communications and navigation technology.
5 Min Read Ground Antenna Trio to Give NASA’s Artemis Campaign ‘LEGS’ to Stand On
An artist’s rendering of astronauts working near NASA’s Artemis base camp, complete with a rover and RV. Credits: NASA Share
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Last Updated Jul 22, 2024 EditorKatherine SchauerContactKendall MurphyLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By European Space Agency
ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection.
The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own.
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By NASA
The April 8, 2024, solar eclipse will be visible in the entire contiguous United States, weather permitting. People along the path of totality stretching from Texas to Maine will have the chance to see a total solar eclipse; outside this path, a partial solar eclipse will be visible.Credits: NASA On Monday, April 8, most of North America will have the chance to see the Moon pass in front of the Sun during a solar eclipse. NASA is inviting the public to participate with in-person events, opportunities to do NASA science, and multiple ways to watch online.
Millions of people along the path of totality – which stretches from Texas to Maine in the United States – will see a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely covers the Sun. Outside the path of totality, people across the contiguous United States will have a chance to see a partial solar eclipse, when the Moon covers part of the Sun. Learn how to safely view this celestial event.
Watch Through Eyes of NASA
NASA will host live coverage of the eclipse starting at 1 p.m. EDT. The agency’s eclipse coverage will include live views of the eclipse from across North America, special appearances by NASA experts, astronauts aboard the space station, and an inside look at NASA’s eclipse science experiments and watch parties across the country. NASA’s broadcast will last three hours, and features live locations from across the nation including the agency’s only center in the path of totality, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio, as well as:
Carbondale, Illinois Dallas Houlton, Maine Indianapolis Kerrville, Texas Niagara Falls, New York Russellville, Arkansas The NASA broadcast will stream on NASA+, air on NASA TV, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media and the agency’s app.
NASA also will host a watch party of the eclipse in Spanish starting at 1:30 p.m. on YouTube.
NASA will provide a no-commentary, telescope-only feed of the eclipse on NASA Television’s media channel and YouTube, starting at 1 p.m. and running for three hours. The telescope feed will incorporate views from multiple locations, and will be switched based on weather, the eclipse’s progress, and feed availability. Locations may include:
Carbondale, Illinois Cleveland Dallas Houlton, Maine Indianapolis Junction, Texas Kerrville, Texas Mazatlán, Mexico Niagara Falls, New York Russellville, Arkansas Torreón, Mexico Tupper Lake, New York NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will provide a commentated livestream of three sounding rocket launches for the Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path mission. The livestream will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA Wallops’ YouTube channel and conclude after the last of the three sounding rocket launches.
NASA’s interactive Eclipse Explorer Map will allow users to track the total solar eclipse in real time on April 8 as it moves across North America. Use the tool ahead of time to search by zip code or city for eclipse timing, get real-time weather updates, percent of eclipse coverage, and even a corona prediction for locations in the path of totality.
Media Resources
Media resources are available on NASA’s eclipse website. To request a remote or in-person eclipse interview with NASA, please contact agency-eclipsemedia@mail.nasa.gov.
Details about in-person eclipse events and registration requirements for media are available online.
NASA eclipse photos will be shared on the Flickr account.
To learn more about the total solar eclipse, visit:
go.nasa.gov/Eclipse2024
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Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 29, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Eclipses 2024 Solar Eclipse Solar Eclipses View the full article
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By NASA
A person watches the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, in Kerrville, Texas.Credits: NASA Millions of people across North America will experience a rare celestial sight on Monday, April 8: a total solar eclipse. NASA will host a media briefing with other government agencies at 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 26, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The briefing will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Over the course of about an hour, viewers in 15 states across the United States will experience up to four and half minutes of darkness when the Moon moves fully in front of the Sun, revealing the Sun’s faint outer atmosphere: the corona. Outside of the path of totality, people in the contiguous United States will have the opportunity to see a partial eclipse, when the Moon covers only a portion of the Sun. Learn how to safely view this celestial event on NASA’s eclipse website.
NASA is joining with scientific and transportation agencies to engage the public, share safety information, and conduct science during the upcoming total solar eclipse. Representatives from these agencies will brief media about plans for the solar eclipse.
Briefing participants include:
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager, NASA Headquarters Shailen Bhatt, administrator, Federal Highway Administration Elsayed Talaat, director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Weather Observations Media interested in attending in person must RSVP by 5 p.m., Monday, March 25, to Tiernan Doyle at tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov. All media interested in participating by phone must request details no later than two hours before the start of the event. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
On April 8, NASA will host live coverage of the eclipse on NASA+, the agency’s website, and the NASA app beginning at 1 p.m. NASA will also stream the broadcast live on its Facebook, X, YouTube, and Twitch social media accounts, as well as have a telescope-only feed of eclipse views on the NASA TV media channel and YouTube.
To learn more about the total solar eclipse, visit:
go.nasa.gov/Eclipse2024
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Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 22, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Solar Eclipses 2024 Solar Eclipse Eclipses NASA Headquarters View the full article
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