ESA’s new 35m deep space station Malargüe, Argentina, ESTRACK
One of the world's most sophisticated satellite tracking stations is nearing inauguration in Malargüe, Argentina, 1000 km west of Buenos Aires. The new station will ensure reliable with missions voyaging hundreds of millions of kilometres into our Solar System. ESA's new tracking station, near the town of Malargüe in Mendoza province, joins two existing stations in Spain and Australia to provide global coverage for the Agency's deep-space missions. Deep Space Antenna 3 - or DSA 3 - will send commands, receive data and perform radiometric measurements with missions such as Mars Express, Venus Express, Rosetta, Herschel, Planck, Gaia, BepiColombo, ExoMars, Solar Orbiter and Juice. With major construction complete, teams are preparing DSA 3 for hand-over to operations, formal inauguration late this year and entry in routine service early in 2013. First test signals received from Mars Express The first test signals were received in June 2012 from Mars Express, over a distance of about 193 million km, proving that the station's technology is ready for duty. "Our initial in-service testing with the Malargüe station shows excellent results," says Roberto Maddè, ESA's project manager for DSA 3 construction.
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