It’s the farthest long-distance phone call in the known universe.
When the astronauts of the Artemis II mission embark Wednesday on their scheduled journey beyond Earth’s orbit, in order to phone home, they will be connecting to the Deep Space Network and its team headquartered at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena.
Though it sounds like a sci-fi spin-off TV show, the Deep Space Network (DSN) is actually a lot like a cell phone network on steroids.
The DSN — a grouping of mega radio antennas in three strategic locations on the planet — will enable a critical exchange of data between the four astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft as they approach the Moon with their mission controllers on Earth. The DSN helps move signals, images, videos, navigation cues, scientific data and all astronaut communications.
By sheer distance the DSN has those T-Mobile TV commercials beat where actor Billy Bob Thornton is on his cell phone in the middle of nowhere. In it, he brags about the connection from cell satellites and remarks to his caller: “You won’t believe where I am.”
In the first part of Orion’s journey and at splashdown, the astronauts on Orion are close enough to Earth to use the Near Space Network managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. But when the spacecraft leaves Earth’s orbit and turns on the afterburners heading to the Moon, all communication shifts to the DSN, managed by a team at the Charles Elachi Mission Control Center at JPL, according to NASA/JPL documents.
“Robust space communications aren’t optional; they’re the essential link that unites the crew and the exploration team on Earth to ensure safety and mission success, as I learned firsthand living and working aboard the International Space Station,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington in a Jan. 28 release by JPL.
How does the DSN do it?
NASA has built three very large antenna stations located in three places: at Goldstone, on the grounds of U.S. Army’s Fort Irwin Military Reservation about 45 miles northeast of Barstow; just southwest of Canberra, Australia near the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve; and one about 37 miles west of Madrid, Spain.
Each complex is situated in semi-mountainous, bowl-shaped terrains to shield against external radio frequency interference, said NASA.
“It is definitely exciting. It is the first time for many of us who are younger that the DSN is supporting human space flight, myself included.” — Amy Smith, Deep Space Network deputy project manager, JPL
Also, they each have large, parabolic dish antennas and ultra-sensitive receiving systems capable of detecting incredibly faint radio signals from distant spacecraft, according to NASA. Some are 70 meters wide, others in each complex are 34 meters.
The DSN has been around for about 60 years and has worked on historic missions, including the Apollo series as well as unmanned spacecraft missions originating out of JPL and has been upgraded over time, said Amy Smith, DSN deputy project manager on Tuesday, March 31.
The DSN Now tool displays real-time data in the Charles Elachi Mission Control Center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the Artemis I launch on November 16, 2022. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Ryan Lannom)
The network will provide 95% of the communications between Artemis II and ground controllers, she said.
“The DSN works as a pass-through,” Smith explained. “We get data from space and we route it out to mission control (in Houston) after its radiated out of the antennas. We are watching things unfold in real time.”
About 100 employees at JPL, from engineers, to maintenance, to operations, work on the DSN project team, she said. For many, this will be the first time working on communications with astronauts on board.
“One of the exciting things at the DSN is we feel we are part of the major milestones for the missions,” Smith said.
This mission will be the first time in 53 years a space mission will take astronauts to the moon, even though they won’t land on it. The crew consists of: Commander Reid Wiseman (NASA), pilot Victor Glover, born in Pomona and a graduate of Ontario High School (NASA), mission specialist Christina Koch (NASA), and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency).
Smith said the four astronauts came to check out the DSN communications control room at JPL a few months back.
“It is definitely exciting,” she said. “It is the first time for many of us who are younger that the DSN is supporting human space flight, myself included.”
The JPL connection underscores the lab’s importance to all kinds of space exploration, noted Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, who has fought against cuts to the agency by President Trump and Elon Musk’s now defunct DOGE.
“As a steadfast champion of JPL and Caltech, I’ve been doing everything I can to protect JPL’s workforce and programs from the devastating budget cuts of the past several years,” Chu began in an emailed response.
“The Deep Space Network’s role in ensuring seamless communications with the Artemis II crew as the Orion spacecraft orbits the moon is just one example of how vital JPL is to the United States’ ambitious space goals,” Chu continued. “JPL’s people and capabilities are truly some of the best in the world, and I am committed to ensuring we preserve this expertise and maintain the United States as a global leader in space.”
Some say that the city of Pasadena, “space city,” is feeling the moment. The city is home to Caltech, the research institute that also oversees JPL; The Planetary Society world headquarters on Los Robles Avenue; and historic Mount Wilson, home to the first telescopes in the world and located high above the city in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Danielle Gunn, chief communications officer of The Planetary Society, said the organization has 50,000 members from all over the world.
“For us here, this is the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that astronauts have traveled beyond Earth’s orbit. It will be the farthest any astronaut has gone,” Gunn said.
She has heard of watch parties planned by the group’s members for the launch window of 3:24 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, April 1. She’s proud to see the first woman, person of color and non-American on a crew of four. Glover spent the longest time on the International Space Station of any Black man. Hansen is Canadian.
You can see what spacecraft the DSN is communicating with on the live Deep Space Network Now website.
Smith said the JPL team will be having a space launch watch party Wednesday afternoon.
“There is a lot of general excitement,” she said. Then the team will be shifting into high gear. “We will be all hand on deck, working multiple shifts.”