Sardinia Deep Space Antenna: Current Program Status and Results

Paper number

IAC-19,B6,IP,1,x52799

Author

Dr. Giuseppe Valente, Italy, Italian Space Agency (ASI)

Coauthor

Dr. Maria Noemi Iacolina, Italy, ASI - Italian Space Agency

Coauthor

Mr. Salvatore Viviano, Italy, Italian Space Agency (ASI)

Coauthor

Dr. Andrea Saba, Italy, ASI - Italian Space Agency

Coauthor

Dr. Giampaolo Serra, Italy, Italian Space Agency (ASI)

Coauthor

Dr. Giorgia Parca, Italy, Italian Space Agency (ASI)

Coauthor

Mr. Gabriele Impresario, Italy, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)

Coauthor

Mr. Giuseppe D'Amore, Italy, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)

Coauthor

Mr. Sami W. Asmar, United States, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Coauthor

Prof. Giorgio Montisci, Italy, Università di Cagliari

Coauthor

Dr. Pierluigi Ortu, Italy, National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF)

Coauthor

Dr. Delphine Perrodin, Italy, INAF

Coauthor

Dr. Francesco Gaudiomonte, Italy, National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF)

Coauthor

Dr. Andrea Melis, Italy, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica

Year

2019

Abstract

The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is a fully-steerable, 64-m diameter parabolic radio telescope, which is capable of operating with high efficiency in the 0.3-116 GHz frequency range. The telescope is located about 35 Km north of the town of Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, Italy.
The infrastructure, the equipment, the operations relevant to deep space communications, tracking activities and support radio science experiments performed at the SRT site under ASI’s responsibility constitute the Sardinia Deep Space Antenna (SDSA).
The SDSA functionalities have been developed and will be improved and extended in forthcoming phases, in order to achieve a national Deep Space Ground facility compliant with international standards, to contribute to current and future interplanetary missions, in particular when a “distinctive” contribution is required.
In this paper, we present an overview of the SDSA program status and the results of some activities performed in 2018, in particular, the tracking of the InSight lander on Mars during the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) phase and the tracking of the asteroid 2003 SD220 at the end of 2018.

Abstract document

IAC-19,B6,IP,1,x52799.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-19,B6,IP,1,x52799.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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