The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO), located near Johannesburg, was originally a tracking station for NASA’s interplanetary probes. Its main involvement was tracking and imaging in support of lunar missions.
The very first image of a planet other than Earth (taken of Mars by Mariner 4 in 1965) was received in South Africa at Hartebeesthoek.
http://www.hartrao.ac.za/other/dss51/dss51.html
http://www.hartrao.ac.za/other/dss51/missions.html