The antenna DSA 3 and its potential use for Radio Astronomy

BENAGLIA PAULA; CASCO NICOLAS; CICHOWOLSKI SILVINA; CILLIS ANALIA; GARCIA BEATRIZ; RAVIGNANI DIEGO; REYNOSO ESTELA; DE LA VEGA G.

San Juan

Congreso; 54 Reunión Anual de la Asociación Argentina de Astronomía; 2011

Abstract. The European Space Agency (ESA) will inaugurate its third Deep Space Antenna (DSA 3) by the end of 2012. DSA 3 will be located in Argentina near the city of Malarg¨ue in the Mendoza province. While the instrument will be primarily dedicated to communications with interplanetary missions, the characteristics of its antenna and receivers will also enable standalone leading scientific contributions, with a high scientific-technological return. We outline here scientific proposals for a radio astronomical use of DSA 3.