This master plan examined the expansion of the Deep Space Network (DSN), a system of three tracking stations around the world that provide the communications link between Earth and Solar System exploration spacecraft, probes and landers. The locations of the three stations are at Goldstone in California, Madrid in Spain (plan top right, photo bottom right) and Canberra in Australia. Dish antennas track the distant targets (as the time lapse video below shows), sending out mission commands and receiving status data and video by telemetry. The main feature of the master plan was the addition of four more 34-metre diameter dish antennas at each site to improve radio contact with future exploration missions, such as the Mars rovers that send video telemetry back to Earth via spacecraft in Mars orbit.

The three stations are positioned close to 120° of latitude apart to maintain line-of-sight contact with the sky as Earth revolves during twenty-four hours. For technical reasons, the required distance between the new antennas was at least 200 metres and the required siting was on high ground to minimize horizon masking by local topography. Construction of the new antennas has been ongoing for several years.