Wildfires Force NASA’s Space Ears in Spain to Go Quiet — But the Mission Goes On!
Quick Summary
Wildfires burning near Madrid, Spain, forced NASA to evacuate one of its most important space communication stations. Every worker made it out safely. NASA quickly switched control of the station’s duties to its team in California, so spacecraft around the solar system never lost contact with home.
What Happened?
On July 24, fast-moving wildfires swept through the hills west of Madrid, Spain. The fires reached the area around a very special place: NASA’s Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, located about 37 miles from the center of Madrid.
Ninety workers at the site had to leave in a hurry. Everyone got out safely. The fires passed through the facility, and NASA said it will check for any damage once it is safe to go back inside.
NASA wasn’t about to let the fires silence its conversations with spacecraft. It quickly handed over all communication duties to its Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California’s Mojave Desert. That site took over without missing a beat.
The Madrid station is one of only three places in the entire world that NASA uses to talk with spacecraft traveling through deep space — think of them as three giant telephone towers spread around Earth so there’s always one facing the right direction in space. The other two are in California and Australia. With Madrid temporarily out, California stepped up.
While the NASA station was quiet, the California and Australia antennas kept on working. They stayed in contact with spacecraft like Voyager 2, which is traveling beyond our solar system, and the Juno probe, which is studying Jupiter.
Why Does It Matter?
Deep space missions can’t press “pause.” Spacecraft like Voyager 2 are billions of miles away and need regular check-ins. The three stations work together like a relay team — always handing the baton to whoever is best positioned to “hear” a spacecraft at any given moment. It’s remarkable that the whole system kept running smoothly during such a stressful situation.
The wildfires were large. More than 25,000 people in Spain were evacuated from their homes. Firefighters and emergency crews worked hard to protect people and buildings. The focus throughout was on keeping everyone safe first.
Big Words
- Deep Space Network — NASA’s worldwide system of giant radio antennas used to communicate with spacecraft exploring our solar system and beyond
- Evacuate — to leave a dangerous area quickly and safely
- Communications Complex — a base with large antenna dishes that sends and receives signals to and from spacecraft
- Antenna — a device that sends or receives radio signals; NASA’s deep space antennas are as wide as a basketball court
- Relay — passing something along from one person or place to another, like a relay race where runners hand off a baton
Fun Fact
NASA’s deep space antennas are so sensitive they can detect a signal from a spacecraft billions of miles away that is weaker than the power used by a nightlight bulb!
Think About It
Why do you think NASA put its three communication stations in three different parts of the world instead of building them all in one place?
Sources
- SpacePolicyOnline — Fires near Madrid Force Evacuation of NASA’s DSN Facility
- Spaceflight Now — Critical NASA Deep Space ground station in Spain evacuated due to wildfires
- NASA Watch — Fire Threatens Madrid DSN Complex
- ANews — Major NASA site in Spain hit by wildfire
- BusinessStory / Reuters — Wildfire forces evacuation of NASA’s Deep Space Network complex in Spain