A wildfire sweeping through the Madrid region of Spain has prompted the evacuation of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) facility, a critical infrastructure hub for interplanetary communications. The complex, which serves as one of the agency's three primary ground stations worldwide for maintaining contact with spacecraft and rovers, has been temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure.\n\nThe evacuation was initiated as the fire approached the facility, which houses large parabolic antennas essential for transmitting commands to and receiving telemetry from deep space missions. NASA stated that any potential damage to equipment will be assessed once conditions permit safe access to the site.\n\nThe Deep Space Network's Spanish station is one of the three strategically positioned facilities (alongside installations in California and Australia) that enable continuous, 24-hour coverage of NASA's far-flung spacecraft. Temporary disruptions to communications with active missions may occur depending on the duration of the evacuation and the extent of any infrastructure damage.