【Comedy Archives】

We're going to need a bigger antenna.

For the first time,Comedy Archives NASA's Deep Space Network — which communicates with the agency's legendary Voyager 1 spacecraft — pointed all six of the large antenna dishes at its Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at the interstellar craft. Combining antennas together, aka "arraying," allows NASA to create a bigger overall antenna and pick up ever-fainter signals from Voyager 1, a craft over 15 billion miles away — and counting. Already, engineers need a five-antenna array to gather unprecedented data from a Voyager instrument.

"As Voyager gets further away, six antennas will be needed," the space agency explained in a statement.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

SEE ALSO: NASA's Voyager is in hostile territory. It's 'dodging bullets.'

Voyager 1 and 2, launched in 1977, have left the sun's influence and are the only human-built craft to enter interstellar space. So the data they're returning is invaluable.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

"The science data that the Voyagers are returning gets more valuable the farther away from the Sun they go, so we are definitely interested in keeping as many science instruments operating as long as possible," Linda Spilker, Voyager’s project scientist, said last year

"As Voyager gets further away, six antennas will be needed."

The instrument that requires six antennas, the Plasma Wave System (PWS) instrument, detects the interstellar gas the craft are passing through.

The Deep Space Network's Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, with all six antennas arrayed together. Credit: MDSCC / INTA / Francisco "Paco" Moreno

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

NASA's Deep Space Network, or DSN, has three disparate locations spaced around Earth, allowing different missions to connect with the network (it currently supports over 40 space endeavors). They're located in Barstow, California, near Madrid, Spain, and near Canberra, Australia. "Madrid is the only deep space communication complex currently with six operational antennas (the other two complexes have four apiece)," the agency explained. "Each complex consists of one 70-meter (230-foot) antenna and several 34-meter (112-foot) antennas."

---

Related Stories

---

• Spacecraft approaches metal object zooming around Earth, snaps footage
• NASA spacecraft keeps on going faster and faster and faster
• The best telescopes for gazing at stars and solar eclipses in 2024
• This nova is on the verge of exploding. You could see it any day now.
• If a scary asteroid will actually strike Earth, here's how you'll know

The Voyager craft, nearing a half-century of operation, may potentially return unprecedented science data through the mid-2030s, when they exhaust their finite nuclear fuel supply. Yet out in interstellar space, another threat looms, too: harmful radiation called galactic cosmic rays. These high speed particles, many of which are created by dramatic star explosions called supernovae, can trip Voyagers' memory, or permanently damage aging computers (which may have recently occurred). It's dangerous in the realm between the stars, billions of miles away.

"We are dodging bullets out there," Alan Cummings, a cosmic-ray physicist at Caltech — the research university that manages NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory — recently told Mashable.

• Life
• Games
• Tech
• Science
• Social Good
• Entertainment
• Deals
• Shopping

• Trump delays TikTok ban for another 75 days
• All the details of Uber's 'PLEASE LOVE US AGAIN' phone call
• People are incensed that an elitist dating app is promoting itself with racist slurs
• Parents everywhere are freaking out about the electronics ban on flights
• Nintendo Switch 2 release date, price announced
• Detailed security footage shows the alleged journey of Tom Brady's stolen Super Bowl jersey
• Once and for all, people: Stop bringing snakes on planes, because stuff like this happens
• A teen made a website where kittens punch Trump. So, Trump unleashed his lawyers.
• Best keyboard deals: Save on Asus gaming keyboards at Amazon
• Make sure your Facebook Messenger friends don't get read receipts

• Some of Google's Nest cameras are vulnerable to attacks
• Dance on top of the (very high) Sydney Harbour Bridge like no one's watching
• A shop in Wales is selling chocolate orange and lettuce sandwiches for a very nice reason
• Oculus put March Madness in VR but not on Rift
• Google finally gives brands more ways to keep ads off hateful Youtube videos
• LeBron James to LaVar Ball: 'Keep my kids' name out of your mouth'
• For the next week, 'Pokémon Go' makes it easier to find Water
• British man walks over 1,500 miles to raise funds for streetchildren
• Small child stuck inside vending machine is the definition of instant regret
• You can now search for a doctor using emoji, because 2017 is sorrow

• Best Garmin deal: Save over $100 on Garmin Forerunner 955
• Parents everywhere are freaking out about the electronics ban on flights
• All the details of Uber's 'PLEASE LOVE US AGAIN' phone call
• Pray for the Cadbury social media manager who's frantically fending off trolls
• NYT Strands hints, answers for April 23
• Tech workers: Donald Trump's America is forcing us to address diversity
• Small child stuck inside vending machine is the definition of instant regret
• Critical LastPass security hole would allow hackers to steal your passwords
• Herediano vs. Real Salt Lake 2025 livestream: Watch Concacaf Champions Cup for free
• Critical LastPass security hole would allow hackers to steal your passwords

• How This Long
• Alec Baldwin gives kid pretty good lesson on his Trump impression
• Emirates already tweeted a joke about the electronics ban
• 'Iron Fist' comics creator 'furious' over cultural appropriation complaints
• Sunday's Fat Bear Week match pits two fat favorites against each other
• Big Bird flies into your stories with Sesame Street's first Snapchat filter
• Google finally gives brands more ways to keep ads off hateful Youtube videos
• Can you tell which picture of a giant cock is actually Donald Trump?
• Tennessee vs. UCLA 2025 livestream: How to watch March Madness for free
• This wildly incorrect guess on 'Wheel of Fortune' will leave you screaming