NASCOM

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/nascom

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the full designation?NASA Communications Network
2. What is the core components?Deep Space Network (DSN) and Near Earth Network (NEN)
3. What is NASCOM and why is it important?NASCOM is a special network that lets Earth send messages to spacecraft and receive data back. It keeps astronauts and robots in space connected to mission control.
4. How does NASCOM keep talking to spacecraft that are far away?It uses huge 70‑meter and 34‑meter antennas in Goldstone, Madrid, and Canberra. These antennas point at the spacecraft as Earth turns, so someone can always talk to it.

Telemetry: Data transmitted from a spacecraft or device to a ground station, indicating its status and performance.
Command: Instructions sent from a ground station to a spacecraft to control its operations.
Interstellar Space: The region of space between stars, outside of any solar system.
Redundancy: The inclusion of extra components or systems to ensure reliability and continued operation if a primary system fails.