SKA OBSERVATORY: Growing Momentum Around SKAO Boosted by First Images
The most advanced scientific research tool in history continues to be rolled out across South Africa’s Northern Cape as construction of the telescope infrastructure, part of the SKAO, commences. Many milestones have been reached on this global mega project, and South Africa is a major beneficiary of the bold and exciting developments that are happening to further enhance our understanding of the universe.
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In December 2022, the famed science and technology project – the SKA Observatory – hit one of the most significant milestones to date after project ideation in 1993. After decades of planning, negotiation, design, and testing, construction finally got underway in South Africa and Australia. When complete, the project will realise the Square Kilometre Array Observatory – the world’s largest and leading radio telescope.
Delving into the depths of the universe, expanding human understanding of the cosmos, and helping to pioneer questions that are yet to be asked, this is an instrument that goes beyond innovation and is in fact a revolution; a marvel of engineering, and a technological triumph on a scale not seen before.
A truly global collaboration, the project is made up of scientific communities from around the world. Headquartered in the UK but with significant involvement from multiple nations, the SKA Observatory announcing start of construction is particularly meaningful for South Africa because of the size of investment required to bring the project to life.
Significant infrastructure is required around the telescope sites, and more than 40 contracts totalling €450 million had been signed by December 2022. Importantly, these contracts will require skills development and engagement in the local communities.
“The official start of on-site construction of the SKAO telescopes is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate excellence and multilateral collaboration in science and acknowledge the SKAO’s strong bonds with its partner nations,” said former-Minister of Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande. “Moreover, this important milestone heralds a new chapter of direct relationships between SKA Observatory and the local communities around the telescope sites, in particular building on years of work in community engagement by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory. The South African government welcomes the opportunities that will flow into the country, due to the construction activities of the SKA.”
Eventually, two different telescopes will make up the larger array, capable of detecting extremely weak radio emissions from faraway extraterrestrial civilisations – if they exist. Together, the network will be a giant ear that listens to the universe. Across South Africa’s Northern Cape, thousands of antenna will be constructed in a carefully planned system, connected to powerful computer systems to analyse gigantic volumes of data. In Australia, similar but different antenna will be put in place and connected to the South African array to create a significant network of instrumentation and knowledge.
Proof of what is possible is already available. In South Africa, the MeerKAT array of 64 telescopes was completed a precursor project in 2018. In February 2023, the MeerKAT discovered a distant galaxy with some of the largest hydrogen atoms in the universe.
This discovery drove excitement around what the SKA will eventually achieve. Just a month previously, the team behind the MeerKAT had been lauded by the Royal Astronomical Society, claiming the Group Achievement Award for the year.
SKAO Director General, Professor Philip Diamond said: “At MeerKAT’s launch, I told guests that the telescope would ‘certainly make history’. It did not take long to be proven right as the prestigious Royal Astronomical Society award confirms.”
Now that full construction is underway, progress has been swift with flagship announcements coming thick and fast.
FIRST DISH
In December 2023, capping off an exciting year for the project, the first SKA-Mid telescope production dish was assembled in China. One of four initial dishes that will stand tall above South Africa’s Karoo region, the final unit is made up of 66 panels, weighs more than 50 tonnes, and stands at over 36m tall.
Chinese company CETC54 lifted the dish onto its pedestal in Shijiazhuang, ready for testing before dismantling and shipping to South Africa.
“Assembling the first SKA-Mid dish is the culmination of years of design work and the contribution of many people and partners around the world,” said SKA-Mid Senior Project Manager, Ben Lewis. “We’ve seen prototypes constructed in recent years and that’s been exciting, but this is the first component of the actual SKA-Mid telescope, and seeing it take shape is very special for everyone involved.”
SKA-Low antennas to be housed on the ground in Australia are manufactured in Italy, and many have reached site and are set to be installed on the first six stations. SKAO Deputy Director General, Programme Director Joseph McMullin summed up a feeling of positivity with so much progress under belts.
“2023 was a transition year for us, going from understanding the instrument and knowing how to build it to actually building it. We have deployed prototype systems in Australia and South Africa, and both are yielding data that we are taking and feeding back into the process,” he said.
For South Africa, the project ramp up brings a buzz to the usually desolate Karoo region and its inhabitants. “There has been considerable progress in terms of activities happening,” said SKA-Mid Site Construction Director, Tracey Cheetham. “We are looking at construction of new roads, new fibre and electrical reticulation networks, and antenna foundations to get ready for installation of the dishes on site.”
GLOBAL GROWTH
While activity on the ground moves ahead at pace, high-level structures continue to be adapted to ensure ongoing support for the project. In January 2024, India announced its intention to become a full member of the SKAO, committing funding for the next seven years of the project.
India has been a partner for many years, contributing heavily to software design and other aspects of the project.
“India’s scientific ambitions are clear to see, particularly in the development of the world-class upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) and recent successful space missions. I’m very pleased that the SKAO is a priority for the Indian government and that the journey towards full membership is now formally under way,” said Diamond.
India would join other full members who have signed the SKA Observatory Convention including Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain (joined in 2023), Switzerland, and the UK. Other prospective members including Canada, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, and Sweden.
FIRST LIGHT IMAGE
Also in January 2024, some of the historic work done on site was rewarded, bringing a sense of fulfilment to all involved when the SKA-Mid telescope achieved first light. The single dish that stands in the Karoo, known as SKAMPI, is a prototype for the larger SKA-Mid project that will see 197 interconnected dishes scan the skies. Funded by Germany’s Max Planck Society, SKAMPI captured the first light image of the Southern Sky at 2.5 GHz wavelength, proving that the technology works.
SKAO Head of System Science, Dr Robert Laing said: “Tests of the SKAMPI prototype have already provided invaluable measurements of key performance parameters. These have been used to refine the design of the SKA-Mid dishes to ensure that they meet our demanding requirements for pointing and surface accuracy.”
SKAMPI will continue to produce scientific outcomes before joining the larger array in the future. Proposals are being discussed for the next significant usage with the German and South Africa scientific communities setting out plans. The tests carried out and the images captured will help to define various settings for the larger instrument.
Showing radio emissions of the Milky Way and external galaxies such as Centaurus A, SKAMPI’s detection of the Vela Pulsar – a radio, optical, X-ray- and gamma-emitting pulsar associated with the Vela Supernova Remnant – excited Hans-Rainer Klöckner from The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy who said: “We have performed first-light observations with SKAMPI in the S-band at frequencies between 1.75 and 3.5 GHz, demonstrating the telescope’s spectral and pulsar capabilities with imaging of the radio emission of the Southern Sky.”
Clearly, the enthusiasm within all spheres of the organisation is not unfounded. This project of three decades is starting to yield tangible results and that should serve to only attract more interest and more funding from around the world. With South Africa at its heart, and expected to roll on for another three decades at least, there is so much more to come.
The scientific mission to research the formation of the very first stars and galaxies, solving complex astrophysics questions, edges closer to a quantifiable quest with each milestone. South Africa is committed and has the skill to deliver. As more progress is praised, the country’s budding scientific minds recognise that there is no better place to be when it comes to global mega projects.