The Malargüe antenna is one of three deep-space tracking installations that make up ESA's Estrack system. Construction of the 600-ton antenna began in 2010 and was completed this year. The site's nearly 115-foot (35-meter) dish is designed to serve as both a ground station for satellites in Earth orbit and spacecraft exploring other destinations in the solar system. The two other installations of the Estrack system are located in New Norcia, Australia, and Cebreros, Spain.
"With the Malargüe station, ESA becomes only the second space agency in the world to provide all-sky coverage for deep-space missions," ESA's Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said in a statement. The other space agency with the capability is the U.S.-based NASA, which operates its own Deep Space Network of ground stations.
ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet since December 2003. It is currently in the midst of an extended mission that runs through 2014.
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