Deputy minister of science and technology Derek Hanekom is this week attempting to strengthen relations with the Canadian government and the country's astronomy and science communities.
“Astronomy in Canada is managed through the Institute of Astrophyics at the National Research Council of Canada, which has a long, impressive history in radio astronomy,” says the department.
Also, Canada joined the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) organisation last month and is allowed to vote on the SKA site selection decision. Apart from SA and Australia, other members include Italy, New Zealand, the UK, China and the Netherlands.
SKA delay
SA is bidding against Australia to host the mega SKA telescope that will attract researchers, significantly strengthen existing astronomy science achievements and create a global hub for astronomy in Africa.
The SKA Organisation met earlier this month and issued a brief statement saying it “wished to move ahead with the site selection process”. It said it “recognised that it is desirable to maintain an inclusive approach to SKA”.
“It is important to maximise the value from the investments made by both candidate host regions,” said the organisation. As a result, a small scientific working group will be set up to explore “options” to achieve maximum value. The working group will report back to the organisation's members in the middle of May. Its report will provide additional information to facilitate the site decision for SKA.
At an estimated construction cost of $2.23 billion, the SKA is poised to be by far the largest radio telescope in the world, according to the department.
“If Africa wins the bid to host the SKA, the core of the telescope will be located in Carnarvon, in the Northern Cape, with about three antenna stations in Namibia, four in Botswana, and one each on Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya and Zambia. Each station will consist of about 30 individual antennae.”
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