Friday, 23rd December 2022
New Norcia's ESA Ground Station Plays Key Role in Moon Landing
On 11 December 2022, Japan launched the first mission by a private company to land on the lunar surface. Under a commercial contract, the European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for ensuring communication between the spacecraft and its teams on Earth throughout the mission. New Norcia is part of the agency’s global network of tracking stations that are being used to transmit commands to the spacecraft and receive scientific data and status information from Mission 1 and the experiments carried out on the Moon.
The lunar lander will be supported by ESA’s largest deep space antennas, including the 35-metre dish located near New Norcia, and a smaller antenna also on the site. The New Norcia ground station will also provide support as part of the ‘Estrack extended network’.
ESA’s first contact with the lander after launch took place over the New Norcia station. This crucial moment allows mission control to check that the lander is healthy, survived the rigours of launch, and is on the right path.