Our extremely sensitive systems, covering much of the relevant radio spectrum and technical expertise offer the opportunity to support niche applications and track transmitting objects – from GEO to cis-lunar and beyond.
Contact us to find out more about purchasing time on our telescopes.
Ground station services
We have been supporting space missions since 1962 when Murriyang, our Parkes radio telescope, tracked the first interplanetary space mission, Mariner 2, as it flew by the planet Venus.
More recently, we provided crucial downlink support for Intuitive Machines' first lunar mission, IM-1. When their Odysseus lander came to rest at an angle significantly reducing its communication capabilities, our team was able to collect valuable data from the lander including images and the payloads.
Our radio telescopes are valuable for spacecraft tracking due to their large collecting area and advanced data acquisition systems. Operating as a ground station for space missions complements the astronomy research conducted with our telescopes and helps us maintain these world-class research instruments.
Space situational awareness
Space situational awareness (SSA) or space domain awareness (SDA) is increasingly important as the space sector continues to grow.
The high sensitivity of our radio telescopes allows us to pick up faint emissions, reflections or interference from satellites, debris, and even non-cooperative transmitters, providing insights into both the physical and operational status of space assets.
We have demonstrated object detection and/or pattern of life characterisation of spacecraft across all orbit domains out to cislunar and beyond. In collaboration with international partners, we have performed bistatic radar detection of objects in the MEO, GEO and xGEO domains.
Asteroid tracking
Keeping an eye on known asteroids is important for planetary defence. Tracking their trajectory so we know if they become 'potentially hazardous objects' that could collide with the Earth. Using the transmit capability at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC), that CSIRO manages for NASA, and collaborating with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), University of NSW and University of Tasmania we've successfully detected radar echoes from more than 40 near-Earth asteroids, helping refine knowledge of their orbits and characteristics such as their rotation rate.
As the only bi-static radar system in the southern hemisphere, we have an important role for the close approaches of asteroids in the southern skies.
Our extremely sensitive systems, covering much of the relevant radio spectrum and technical expertise offer the opportunity to support niche applications and track transmitting objects – from GEO to cis-lunar and beyond.
Contact us to find out more about purchasing time on our telescopes.
Ground station services
We have been supporting space missions since 1962 when Murriyang, our Parkes radio telescope, tracked the first interplanetary space mission, Mariner 2, as it flew by the planet Venus.
More recently, we provided crucial downlink support for Intuitive Machines' first lunar mission, IM-1. When their Odysseus lander came to rest at an angle significantly reducing its communication capabilities, our team was able to collect valuable data from the lander including images and the payloads.
Our radio telescopes are valuable for spacecraft tracking due to their large collecting area and advanced data acquisition systems. Operating as a ground station for space missions complements the astronomy research conducted with our telescopes and helps us maintain these world-class research instruments.
Space situational awareness
Space situational awareness (SSA) or space domain awareness (SDA) is increasingly important as the space sector continues to grow.
The high sensitivity of our radio telescopes allows us to pick up faint emissions, reflections or interference from satellites, debris, and even non-cooperative transmitters, providing insights into both the physical and operational status of space assets.
We have demonstrated object detection and/or pattern of life characterisation of spacecraft across all orbit domains out to cislunar and beyond. In collaboration with international partners, we have performed bistatic radar detection of objects in the MEO, GEO and xGEO domains.
Asteroid tracking
Keeping an eye on known asteroids is important for planetary defence. Tracking their trajectory so we know if they become 'potentially hazardous objects' that could collide with the Earth. Using the transmit capability at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC), that CSIRO manages for NASA, and collaborating with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), University of NSW and University of Tasmania we've successfully detected radar echoes from more than 40 near-Earth asteroids, helping refine knowledge of their orbits and characteristics such as their rotation rate.
As the only bi-static radar system in the southern hemisphere, we have an important role for the close approaches of asteroids in the southern skies.