• The Union Cabinet recently approved India’s participation in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, along with a financial commitment of Rs 1,250 crore.

ABOUT SKA PROJECT

• SKA will be a group of radio telescopes operating out of South Africa and Australia in two different ranges of radio frequency.
  • The South-African array will scan for mid-frequency signals, between 350 MHz and 15.4 GHz, while the Australian telescope will work in the low-frequency range of 50-350 MHz.
• Its headquarters are at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK.
• Once constructed, the SKA will be the most powerful telescope ever built.
• Scientific Objectives
  • SKA will observe and map galaxies at the edge of the observable universe, going back in time.
  • The telescope will study magnetism and radiation from distant galaxies and map them as well.
  • SKA will also aim to detect and understand the role of dark matter and dark energy in the universe.
  • It will aid in the search for life beyond the Earth by looking for planets that orbit stars in habitable zones.
• Founded in 2019, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) has 16 consortium members — Australia, South Africa, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy.
• The Indian Pathfinder research partner for the SKA project is Pune’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).