Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex
Located at Tidbinblla, just outside Canberra, this complex is one of three deep space network stations around the world. The sister stations are located at Goldstone in California, and near Madrid in Spain. Together, the three stations provide around-the-clock contact with more than 30 spacecraft, including missions to study Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluton, comets, the moon and the Sun.
There are currently four antennas operating at the Canberra station: one 70-metre and three 34-metre radio dishes that receive data from, and transit commands to, spacecraft on deep space missions. More information about the site can be found at the CSIRO website
To claim this virtual, take a photo of yourself (with something that identifies you - your hat or t-shirt with name, or your caching name/s on a piece of paper) with at least TWO of the radio dishes at one of the following waypoints:
A: walk to the posted coordinates and take in the marvellous view; or
B: take a photo from the coordinates listed at the parking area.
Getting to the centre and ground zero:
Travel to the Canberra Space Centre takes about 40-45 minute from the centre of Canberra.
Note - mobile phone coverage in the area is limited - I recommend you download the cache or coordinates to an offline list.
Access the trail to GZ through the gate about 200m south of the carpark (refer trail head).
Then walk the 1.5km to GZ where you will find a great view of the dishes and valley.
Space Exploration Exhibition and Cafe
*Entry is free* to the Exhibition
Located in the grounds of the complex you will find the Canberra Space Centre, Cafe and Gift Shop
See a piece of the Moon that's over 3.8 billion years old, discover the foods that astronauts eat, check out spacecraft models and memorabilia and more. Or watch a movie on the history and future of space exploration in one of the audio-visual theatres.
The Centre is well worth a visit and is usually open from 9am to 5pm.
THE CENTRE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO COVID - CHECK THE CDSCC WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS and please send me a message if you discover the Centre and/or Cafe are now open
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.