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\nDeep Space Antenna 1 is ESA\u2019s first 35-m deep dish, staring out to space to communicate with missions far from home.\n<\/p>\n
\nLocated 140 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia, close to the village of New Norcia, this giant antenna is in the perfect spot to observe the skies.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe Wadjarri people from the Murchison region refer to much of the milky way as the emu, as it resembles an emu stretched across the sky,\u201d says Suzy Jackson, Maintenance & Operations Manager for the ground station.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m told that when the emu\u2019s nose reaches the horizon, that\u2019s the best time to collect emu eggs. Having our antenna in the foreground just makes it all the better. I am amazed at how beautiful our workplace here is.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe New Norcia antenna provides routine support to missions orbiting Mars like Mars Express<\/a> and Exomars TG<\/a>O as well as the Gaia<\/a> space observatory, in the process of making the world’s most precise map of the stars in our Milky Way galaxy and BepiColombo<\/a> on its way to Mercury.\n<\/p>\n \nWith the launch of ESA\u2019s ESTRACK now<\/i>\u00a0‘dashboard\u2019, you can find out exactly which missions are communicating with which antennas at any moment, and discover more about what individual missions are up to – what is their mission and how far away are they?\n<\/p>\n \nExplore the ESTRACK network in real time or go to http:\/\/estracknow.esa.int<\/a>.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n \nCheck out our guide to using the dashboard, here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nThis processed image was taken by local astrophotographer Jim Longbottom. Find more of his work on his Flickr page<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n