Editing Deep Space 1 (section)

===Beacon Monitor===
Another method for reducing DSN burdens is the [[Beacon mode service|Beacon Monitor]] experiment. During the long cruise periods of the mission, spacecraft operations are essentially suspended. Instead of data, Deep Space 1 transmitted a [[carrier signal]] on a predetermined frequency. Without data decoding, the carrier could be detected by much simpler ground antennas and receivers. If DS1 detected an anomaly, it changed the carrier between four tones, based on urgency. Ground receivers then signal operators to divert DSN resources. This prevented skilled operators and expensive hardware from babysitting an unburdened mission operating nominally. A similar system was used on the ''[[New Horizons]]'' Pluto probe to keep costs down during its ten-year cruise from Jupiter to Pluto.