Cape Town – Nasa and the SA National Space Agency (Sansa) renewed their partnership in lunar exploration with the groundbreaking of a new communications facility in Matjiesfontein that will help the Artemis missions return humans to the moon.
Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for Nasa’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) programme, joined Sansa officials on Tuesday in Matjiesfontein at the future site of a new Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) antenna.
The ceremony was preceded by the signing of a letter of intent between Nasa and the Department of Science and Innovation to formalise the space exploration partnership.
Located about 240km north-east of Cape Town, Matjiesfontein will be one of three, 18m to 24m, communications LEGS antennas strategically placed around the globe to ensure near-continuous connectivity between astronauts on Nasa’s Artemis spacecraft and those who’ll subsequently come to work on and around the lunar surface.
“Location, weather and existing infrastructure make Matjiesfontein the ideal place to build this antenna,” said Younes.
”We really couldn’t have asked for a better spot on Earth than here in South Africa, with whom we first partnered six decades ago to land the first humans on the lunar surface. The moon brought Nasa and South Africa together 60 years ago. I’m so pleased it’s done so again today.”
South Africa was home to a ground tracking station outside Joburg at Hartebeesthoek (HBK) that played a critical role in Nasa’s Apollo missions in the 1960s.
Artemis, named for Apollo’s sister, will land the first woman and person of colour on the moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a stepping stone to send astronauts to Mars.
“We see this partnership as mutually beneficial,” said Dr Phil Mjwara, DSI director-general.
“Matjiesfontein ground station will alleviate increased demand for Nasa’s Deep Space Network (DSN), allowing Artemis to meet its goals and expand our scientific knowledge of key challenges to astronaut health and safety, such as space radiation, altered gravity fields, isolation and confinement, closed environments, and extreme and prolonged distance from Earth.”
Matjiesfontein will join future LEGS facilities at Nasa’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and a still-to-be-determined location in Australia.
With a LEGS station in North America, South Africa and Australia, the moon will always be in Earth’s view to ensure essential, enhanced direct-to-Earth communications capabilities up to two million kilometres away through Nasa’s Near Space Network (NSN).
Cape Times