Week in Geek: NASA’s Deep Space Network lets you see who’s talking way out there

One of the coolest websites I’ve discovered recently is this real-time tracking of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) — a network of radio telescopes around the planet that keep in constant contact with the many spacecraft we have sent far from home. They are spread out to ensure that at least one of them can send and receive signals to the various spacecraft at all times, as the Earth rotates. The site lets you see which antenna is talking with which spacecraft at any given moment.

Additionally, it provides details on each ground station and each deep space mission, as well as letting you see who is doing the “talking”: us or the spacecraft. The DSN is what NASA uses to keep in touch with the famous Voyager spacecraft currently exploring the farthest reaches of the Solar System. I find myself hypnotized from time to time when I see that one of the antennas is currently “talking” to Voyager 1 or 2. It’s amazing to me that we can track something so small and so far away.

Here’s some local geek for you, relatively speaking:

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Have a great and geeky week! @Summer_Ash