Space Agency Officially Advances Participation in Humanity's Largest Giant Radio Telescope Construction Project

The Space Aviation Agency plans to attend the board meeting of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) held in Zurich, Switzerland on the 18th, and officially express its intention to participate in the "International Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project," which aims to build the largest radio telescope in human history.

The SKA telescope, currently being constructed in Australia and the Republic of South Africa, boasts superior resolution, observation speed, and sensitivity compared to existing radio telescopes, enabling it to detect faint radio signals from the early universe. It is expected to provide answers to fundamental questions about the universe, such as its origin and the search for extraterrestrial life.

Christmas tree-shaped SKA-Low prototype antenna installed in the Murchison Desert area of Australia. Provided by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR), Australia

The Space Aviation Agency aims to acquire full membership status to secure rights such as participation of domestic industries and priority access to SKA data, and plans to proceed sequentially with domestic and international procedures following this official declaration of participation.

Kang Kyung-in, head of the Space Science Exploration Division at the Space Aviation Agency, stated, "Through this participation, we will actively support domestic astronomy researchers in producing world-class research achievements and contributing to the leap toward becoming a space power," adding, "We hope that research utilizing SKA data will help solve key challenges in modern astronomy, such as the origin of the universe and the search for extraterrestrial life."

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