On May 5, 2018, the ESA radio station in New Norway (Western Australia) monitored the NASA InSight spacecraft, providing critical tracking support during launch and early operations on a mission to Mars.
New Norway Station maintained contact with InSight and two MarCOs CubeSats as a backup for NASA ground station at Canberra base. NASA asked for help, because at this time of the year great visibility to Mars opens from the southern hemisphere.
On November 26, New Norway will also take part in monitoring the landing of the vehicle on the Red Planet. Since its opening in 2003, the station has been used to communicate with Mars Express, Rosetta, Venus Express and Gaia.
