How NASA Uses Gravity and Radio Waves to Study Planets and Moons

Description Likes Views 2023 x The Deep Space Network , NASA's international collection of giant radio antennas used to communicate with spacecraft at the Moon and beyond , helps scientists and engineers use gravity and radio science experiments to learn more about our planetary neighborhood . After reaching a spacecraft reaches its destination , it uses radio antennas to communicate with the Deep Space Network , which in turn transmits radio signals back to the spacecraft . Every spacecraft travels in a predetermined path emitting radio signals as it orbits around its target . Scientists and engineers can infer the spacecraft's location and how fast it's going by measuring changes in the spacecraft's radio signal frequency . This is made possible by the Doppler effect , the same phenomenon that causes a siren to sound different as it travels towards and away from you .