Concerned about the political climate in South Africa during the 1960s, NASA looked for a suitable location on the same longitude to build a new Deep Space Station. In Robledo de Chevala, NASA found the ideal location. Deep Space Station 61 (DSS-61) was completed in 1965 in time to assist in the Mariner 4 mission. The Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN) upgraded DSS-61 to provide backup for the Apollo Program in the late 1960s and in 1980 the antenna was upgraded from 26 meters (85 feet) to 34 meters (111 feet) in diameter. In 1999, the antenna was retired and repurposed as the Proyecto Academico con el Radio Telescopio de NASA en Robledo (PARTNeR) which allows students and astronomy associations to control the antenna and share information found with the antenna through the internet.