Sci-Tech

Jointly discuss, build and share to contribute China's strength to SKA construction

2022-12-07   

From December 5 to 6, in the remote southern hemisphere, the core construction tasks of the square kilometer array radio telescope (hereinafter referred to as SKA) IF and LF arrays were launched in South Africa and Australia respectively. The International Science Project SKA is the world's largest comprehensive aperture radio telescope jointly built and operated by many countries in the world. Its headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, and the telescope stations are located in South Africa and Australia. The receiving area of its final construction plan is up to one square kilometer, providing a major opportunity for human beings to understand the universe. China is a founding member of the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO). Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology, was invited to make a video speech at the launching ceremony of SKA construction. "The launching ceremony of SKA construction is an important milestone in the development of SKAO, and a landmark achievement of the long-term participation and joint efforts of all parties of SKAO. The 16 member countries of SKA Observatory come from the northern and southern hemispheres and Asia, Europe and Africa, with extensive participation of many countries in the world, highlighting the global nature of SKA projects and setting a model for multilateral international scientific and technological cooperation." Wang Zhigang said. Actively participating in the preparation of SKA, SKA is a comprehensive aperture array consisting of a large number of small radio antennas stretching up to thousands of kilometers. It integrates the outstanding performance of large field of view, high sensitivity, high resolution, wide frequency range, etc. Its scientific research objectives include how the first generation of celestial bodies form, how galaxies form and evolve, the nature of dark energy, the cosmic magnetic field, the nature of gravity, life molecules and extraterrestrial civilization. The industry generally believes that a breakthrough in any of the above issues will be a major breakthrough in natural science. Its revolutionary design also means an unimaginable large amount of information and data, which subverts the traditional research methods of radio astronomy and brings a new concept to the innovative research of radio astronomy. As the initiator, advocate and developer of SKA, China is an indispensable force in the construction of SKA. In March 2019, the Ministry of Science and Technology, on behalf of the Chinese government, signed the Convention on the Establishment of the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention") in Rome, Italy, and joined the first phase of SKA. Together with Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, the United Kingdom and other countries, it became a founding member of SKAO International Organization; In the same period, the State Council approved the Ministry of Science and Technology to set up a special SKA project. According to the Convention, since June 26, 2021, China has officially become a member of the Square Kilometer Array Observatory, and China's participation in SKA has entered a new stage. In fact, China's participation in the construction of SKA can be traced back to an earlier time. It is reported that since 2013, China and superior scientific research institutions in more than ten countries have formed an international work package alliance to jointly participate in the design and R&D work in the preparation stage of SKA construction. After many years of technical breakthrough, some research and development teams in China have achieved a leap from following and leading in technology. In 2017, they were successfully elected as the chairman of the IF Antenna International Work Package Alliance, and participated in the research and development of international work packages such as low-frequency aperture arrays, signal and data transmission, and scientific data processing. China's wisdom makes SKA see farther and clearer. The IF antenna structure is the core facility of SKA's IF array, which is directly related to the effectiveness of telescope observation

Edit:wangwenting Responsible editor:xiaomai

Source:people.cn

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