Wildfire in Spain threatens one of NASA’s three Deep Space Network antennas
A wildfire in Spain has forced the evacuation at NASA’s Madred Deep Space Network antenna, one of three the agency maintains worldwide to communicate with its interplanetary missions.
Spain and France are battling wildfires in many regions right now. The BBC reports that more than 130,000 people have been evacuated in the two countries.
NASA’s DSN station is in Robledo de Chavela, Spain, about 65 kilometers (37 miles) west of Madrid. La Razon reports that the entire town was evacuated. INFUES Ávila, which tracks forest fires in the province of Avila, posted an image on X (@InfuesAvila) of fire and smoke near one of the antennas.
The agency says all employees are safe, and that the fire “has already passed through” the area. It will assess the damage when it is safe to return to the area. Meanwhile, NASA has using its Goldstone antenna in California to pick up the slack. It also has its Canberra antenna in Australia.
The temporary loss of one third of this network however will likely slow communications with the Mars orbiters and rovers as well as other missions.
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