The Goldstone Solar System Radar (GSSR) is a large radar system used for investigating objects in the Solar System. Located in the desert near Barstow, California, it comprises a 500-kW X-band (8500 MHz) transmitter and a low-noise receiver on the 70-m DSS 14 antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex.[1] It has been used to investigate Mercury, Venus, Mars, the asteroids, and moons of Jupiter and Saturn. The most comparable facility was the radar at Arecibo Observatory,[2] until that facility collapsed.
Goldstone Deep Space Network
| |
| Alternative names | Goldstone radar  |
|---|---|
| Part of | DSS 14 |
| Location(s) | California, Pacific States Region |
| Coordinates | 35°25′36″N 116°53′24″W / 35.4267°N 116.89°W / 35.4267; -116.89 |
| Organization | California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA |
| Altitude | 2,950 ft (900 m) |
| Telescope style | radar radio telescope space instrument |
| Diameter | 70 m (229 ft 8 in) |
| Website | gssr |
  Location of Goldstone Solar System Radar | |
GSSR can work in two different modes. In the monostatic radar mode, GSSR both transmits and receives. In bistatic mode, GSSR transmits and other radio astronomy facilities receive. Although more difficult to schedule, this offers two advantages - the transmitter does not need to turn off to allow the receiver to listen, and it allows the use of interferometry to extract more information from the reflected signal.
Bodies that have been investigated using GSSR include:
Astronomy
Stars
Spaceflight
Outer space
Solar System
Education
Science
