 Nestled in the remote valleys of California's Mojave Desert is a complex of deep space communications antennas. Without these graceful giants, NASA would not be able to command and receive information from satellites or investigate distant stars and galaxies. The complex called Goldstone has been NASA's switchboard to the universe for over three decades. Actually, it is one of three stations located at equal distances around the globe linked together to provide continuous contact with spacecraft. The largest of all dishes measuring 70 meters across has been in service for 25 years. Its large ear helps scientists collect data from missions like Magellan currently mapping the surface of Venus. Faint signals from Magellan travel millions of miles through space in a receipt by the antenna. Signals that are then amplified, processed, and transferred to the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is the Clearing House for all incoming and outgoing information. Ultimately, millions of picture elements are assembled from spacecraft data and transformed into unprecedented views of the Venusian surface. Not all of Goldstone's dishes are pointed at spacecraft. As early as 1962, the 26-meter site used radar signals to detect surface features on the planet Venus. A high-tech antenna was recently added to test new hardware, including equipment that will someday help search for life elsewhere in space. Goldstone is one of the country's oldest and most valuable resources. Tracking first began in 1958 with Pioneer 3 and 4, which measured a second radiation belt around the Earth and helped us chart a course to the moon. Antennas tracked the Ranger Lunar probes, and by 1966, Surveyor spacecraft bean-backed pictures of the surface. Goldstone even brought us live TV, the first moonwalk. Tracking continued as early Mariners spacecraft visited some of our closest planetary neighbors. In 1977, a pair of Voyagers began a mission that would send back images of worlds we had never seen before. Planets with complex ring systems and their tortured icy moons. Goldstone still receives faint signals from the Voyagers as they head toward the unknown reaches of interstellar space. Goldstone, the premier deep-space communications network.