Goonhilly Earth Station is expected to receive the very first direct message from Mars.
THE LIZARD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18: Exterior view of Antenna GHY-6 at Goonhilly Earth Station on February 18, 2021 on The Lizard, England. Two antennas, GHY-3 and GHY-6, at Goonhilly Earth Station have been modified over two years to be compatible with NASA and ESAs' Deep Space Networks. GHY-6 will be receiving data from NASA's JPL Perseverance rover during its landing on Mars's surface this evening (GMT). This will be the first time communications direct from the surface of Mars will be received in the UK and successful transmission of data will verify GHY-6 becoming the world's first commercial deep space antenna.
This space center from the UK is host to the GHY-6, a 32m large satellite that has obtained transmissions from the red planet's orbit.
Scientists at the Helston, Cornwall location said that to test GHY-6, they monitored and obtained signals from probes in Mars' atmosphere.
It is the first commercial deep-space antenna in the United Kingdom, and it would enable telecommunications on pioneering Moon and Mars missions.
The station partnered with space organizations worldwide: including those in Europe, China, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
How This Antenna Would Become a Part Of NASA and ESA
Goonhilly is a carrier-grade satellite communications centre with all the necessary components to provide world-class service.
Ian Jones, CEO of Goonhilly Earth Station, said that the antenna's transformation was made to become a part of ESA and NASA deep space channels. He added this move had been part of their business strategy right from the beginning.
It was, though, incredibly challenging to accomplish that aim. While the transformation in itself was a two-year intensive program, upgrading virtually every device on the entire antenna, including 10,000 nuts and bolts, the hardware update was the easy part.
"Our team has worked along-side colleagues at ESA implementing the sophisticated planning and operational tools required for deep space mission support," Jones said in a statement.
"Now, we are fully equipped for supporting space agency and private missions to the Moon, Mars and other solar system locations," he added. Jones added the team could improve that ability as they build out its international network.
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Over the past few weeks, Goonhilly has collaborated with the ESA using Mars Express, a spacecraft on an active Mars mission, as the test vehicle for their GHY-6 antenna.
Cornish Times reported that Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, the UK Space Agency and ESA sponsored this 2-year program and updated the million-dollar satellite dish. In time for the anticipated enhanced operation across the Moon, the experts completed the update.
Is It Fully Operational Now?
As it circles the red planet, they are now shadow monitoring Mars Express. In this pre-operational process, Goonhilly has also obtained signals from the UAE Space Agency Hope Project, another Mars mission.
Picking up signals on February 9, Goonhilly announced that UAE Space Agency Hope Mission reached Mars orbit. CNSA Mars Project Tianwen-1 joined Hope on February 10 in a notable month for Mars missions.
Just a week after these two missions reached Mars' orbit, NASA's JPL Perseverance rover landed on Mars' surface on February 18. During the landing attempt, the GHY-6 antenna would point to Mars.
Though not an official downlink, if NASA requires assistance before and during the landing, Goonhilly would be able to obtain and possibly interpret the signals from the rover. This will be the first time astronauts will send signals in the UK directly from the surface of Mars.
In an astounding ten minutes, the data would fly approximately 200 million kilometers from Mars.
Matt Cosby, CTO, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd, said they would provide ESA help for their Mars Express mission.
"Having completed our calibration testing, we're now in the operational readiness training phase for our teams," Cosby said.
Cornwall is taking a big move into the potential of space travel and it's fantastic to see messages being received on the planet in Cornwall from satellites millions of miles away.
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