Friday, June 22, 2012

ESA ESTRACK Malargüe webcam

The outdoor webcam at the site of ESA's new deep space tracking station at Malargüe, Argentina, was switched on in May 2010 and brings you a visual update on construction progress.

The Malargüe webcam image is shown below. The camera acquires a new image six times per hour, and the image below will be automatically refreshed.


On 22 June 2009, ESA informed Argentine authorities that an area 40 km south of the town of Malargüe in Mendoza province, about 1000 km (direct line) west and slightly south of Buenos Aires (1400 km by road!), has been chosen as the best option to build a new 35-metre deep space antenna in support of Agency missions.

Together with ESA's DSA-1 (New Norcia, Australia) and DSA-2 (Cebreros, Spain), the 620-tonne antenna in Argentina will complete the 360-degree deep-space coverage needed to ensure full telecommunications during mission-critical events and enhance the return of scientific data.

The station is now under construction and will become operational from mid-2012 in support of scientific and exploration missions.

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