Deep Space Station 15, one of the 112-foot antennas at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, looks skyward in September 2025, with the stars of the Milky Way above. Goldstone is part of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which operates three complexes around the world that support communications with dozens of deep space missions.
The DSN is NASA’s international array of giant radio antennas that support interplanetary spacecraft missions as well as some Earth orbiting missions. The DSN also provides radar and radio astronomy observations that improve our understanding of the Solar System and the larger universe.
Through Artemis, NASA is establishing a permanent presence in space and exploring more of the Moon than ever before. To achieve this, Artemis missions rely on both the Deep Space Network and the Near Space Network. These networks, overseen by NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program office, use global infrastructure and relay satellites to ensure seamless communications and tracking as Orion launches, orbits Earth, travels to the Moon and returns home.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
