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The Parkes 64-m radio telescope, also known as Murriyang,
will provide ground station support for one of the
first commercial lunar landings later this year.
CSIRO has signed a new five-year agreement with Houston-based
aerospace company Intuitive Machines to support multiple lunar
missions, including their first flight under NASA’s Commercial Lunar
Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
Intuitive Machines will launch its Nova-C Moon lander on a SpaceX
Falcon 9 rocket towards the end of 2021, delivering commercial cargo
and five NASA experiments to investigate the local geography and test
technology required for future human exploration.
Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science Dr Douglas Bock said
"Our Parkes radio telescope began supporting space missions in 1962,
when it tracked the first interplanetary space mission, Mariner 2, as
it flew by the planet Venus. Most recently, the telescope received
data from Voyager 2 as it entered interstellar space, supporting the
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex -- which we also manage for
NASA. Operating as a ground station for space missions complements the
astronomy research conducted with the telescope and helps to maintain
its capabilities as a world-class research instrument."
(Image credit: Intuitive Machines)
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