The first five Square Kilometre Array (SKA)-Mid telescope dishes have been assembled and brought into operation on site in South Africa.
This emerged at last week’s G20 research and innovation ministerial meeting in Pretoria, where the SKA Observatory (SKAO) briefed representatives on the construction progress of the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope arrays.
Over 10 years in the making, the SKA project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope. South Africa and Australia are joint project hosts.
In total, there will be 197 SKA-Mid dishes, stretching across 150km in the Northern Cape, and covering a wide frequency range, from 350MHz to 15.4GHz, with a goal of up to 24GHz in the future. In Australia, the tally will be 130 000SKA-Low telescope antennas.
According SKAO director-generalprofessor Philip Diamond, both telescopes recently “opened their eyes” on the universeas the systems are being slowly brought into operation.
In SA, the five SKA-Mid telescope dishes have joined the 64 existing MeerKAT dishes, with 14 new MeerKAT extension dishes provided by Germany and Italy.
Over in Australia, 12 000 antennas have now been deployed, revealed the director-general.
“At its core, the construction of the SKA telescopes is driven by ambitious science goals that will fundamentally alter our current understanding of the universe over the coming decades, positioning the SKAO as one of the world’s premier international research infrastructures of the 21st century.”
Headquartered in the UK, SKA Observatory is responsible for building and operating the world’s two largest radio telescopes.
Members and observers of the SKAO participated in the meeting, in line with South Africa holding the G20 Presidency.
SKAO member states and observers also held their first ministerial-level council meeting, where commitment to the observatory as a tool to advance scientific knowledge, foster international cooperation and drive socio-economic impact was reaffirmed.
At the meeting, Diamond highlighted the benefits radio astronomy has brought to society, including the development of WiFi.
He also noted that participating countries are already benefiting from close to €900 million in industrial contracts allocated so far, as well as the development of a global research and computing ecosystem around the project.
“In building these two giant, complex cutting-edge machines, this unique global collaboration of nations is also tackling some of society’s biggest challenges,” he stated.
“[For example] providing decent work, economic growth and quality education, driving innovation, embracing cleaner energy, preserving indigenous culture and heritage, protecting life on land as well as dark and quiet skies, and striving for a truly diverse workforce − all themes that feature prominently on the G20 agenda.”
As part of the week’s proceedings, delegates from 26 countries had the opportunity to visit the South African SKA site in the Northern Cape.
The visit was co-organised by the SKAO, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO).
It served as an opportunity to highlight how investment in radio astronomy and the SKA Observatory are bringing tangible benefits for society, according to a statement.
They were able to interact with beneficiaries of various support programmes funded by SARAO, as well as international partners. This included local school children taking part in international robotics competitions, newly-trained night sky guides to support a nascent astronomy tourism industry and rangers to help manage the Meerkat National Park, as well as artists contributing to the SKAO’s Cosmic Echoes astronomy art exhibition.
The delegates also had the opportunity to see a variety of key telescope hardware being manufactured across SKAO member countries.
“Astronomy has been a strategic priority for South Africa, and the SKA project embodies this vision,” said Dr Mlungisi Cele, DSTI director-general.
“It’s more than a scientific endeavour; it’s a driver for socio-economic transformation and a catalyst for developing the next generation of scientists, innovators and engineers.”
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