India becomes full member of SKA, aims to build world’s most sensitive radio telescope

New Delhi: India has found a place in the inner circle of a global effort which is aiming to build the world’s most sensitive radio-telescope to explore the farthest corners of the Universe, going back to an era close to the Big Bang.

New Delhi’s entry as a council member of the Square Kilometre Array Organisation – announced at Pune on Wednesday - comes after more than a decade of Indian astronomers’ involvement in building the massive radio telescope that will straddle over two continents.

When ready, the SKA will be the world’s most sensitive radio telescope – 50 times more sensitive than the current generation instruments – and will be able to survey the sky 10,000 times faster.

Consisting of 197 dishes in South Africa’s Karoo region, and over 130,000 low frequency antennas in Western Australia’s Murchison Shire, the telescope will monitor the sky in unprecedented detail, in a complementary range of radio frequencies.

Taken together the two sites will act as a single telescope with a signal collection area of one square kilometre.

“This mega science international collaboration puts India ahead in the global scientific forum,” Ajit Kumar Mohanty, secretary, Department of Atomic Energy said.

SKA is an international organisation with 12 full members at the moment though several others are associated with the mega project and the membership number is expected to rise.

Last December, the Union Cabinet approved Rs 1,250 crore for India’s participation as the council member of the SKA to support India’s activities at SKA till 2031. The paper work for inclusion as the council member was completed in July, sources said.

“We are enthusiastic to contribute both in-kind through different work packages and via cash payments towards establishing the facility,” said Department of Science and Technology secretary Abhay Karandikar. The project is funded jointly by the DAE and the DST.

The two sites are chosen for co-hosting the SKA based on the characteristics of the atmosphere above the sites and their radio quietness, which comes from being some of the most remote yet accessible locations on the Earth.

The unprecedented sensitivity of the SKA’s receivers will allow insights into the formation and evolution of the first stars and galaxies after the Big Bang, the role of cosmic magnetism, the nature of gravity, and possibly even life beyond Earth.

Indian astronomers and engineers were deeply involved in design and development work since the project’s inception in 2012 onward, and made significant contributions to the critical software elements that sit at the heart of the telescopes.

India will continue its work to supervise the development of the observatory monitor and control system.

“Akin to the brain and nervous system of the observatory, the monitor and control system will issue the commands required to carry out astronomical observations for our global community,” the DAE said in a statement.

“SKAO membership will bring many benefits to Indian industry as we plan to make in-kind contributions in areas like radio frequency electronics, digital hardware and signal processing systems, data processing software and also monitoring and control software,” said Yashwant Gupta, director, National Centre for Radio Astronomy that operates the country’s biggest radio telescope GMRT.

“India’s membership enhances the diversity of SKAO members, connecting five continents through scientific excellence to create one of the world’s most ambitious research infrastructures," noted Phil Diamond, director general of SKAO