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Pretty picture: Talking to GRAIL

Posted By Emily Lakdawalla

2011/09/12 07:47 CDT

Topics: pretty pictures, Deep Space Network

A lovely picture from the Canberra DSN this morning, showing two of the workhorse 34-meter antennas communicating with the nearby GRAIL spacecraft. In the distance, the huge DSS-43 talks to the solar observatory STEREO-B.

Canberra DSN

Antennas of the Canberra DSN at work

Radio antennas in Australia track the twin GRAIL spacecraft on the way to the Moon. In the center is the 34-meter DSS-34 tracking GRAIL-A and at right is DSS-45 on GRAIL-B. In the left background, 70-meter DSS-43 is tracking STEREO-B.