A radio observatory near the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, site of a radio telescope of 64-m aperture opened in 1961 and owned by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). As well as radio astronomy, the Parkes dish has been used to track space missions on behalf of NASA, including the Mariners and Apollos, Voyager 2, Galileo, and most recently various NASA Mars probes. NASA has funded upgrades to the telescope and its receivers.

http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/ Guide to the work of Australia's main radio telescope, plus the true story of its role in receiving TV pictures of the Apollo 11 Moon walk as dramatized in the feature film The Dish.