- KASA Attends SKAO Council Meeting and Officially Expresses Intent to Participate in the SKA Construction Project -
The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), led by Administrator Yoon Youngbin, will officially express its intention to participate in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project, the largest radio telescope ever to be constructed in human history, at the SKAO* Council meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 18.
*The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) is the international organization that oversees the SKA project, managing the construction and operation of the telescope, data processing and analysis, and international cooperation.
The SKA telescope, currently under construction in Australia and South Africa, boasts superior performance in resolution, survey speed, and sensitivity compared to existing radio telescopes. It is expected to observe faint radio signals from the early universe and provide answers to fundamental questions about the origins of the universe, the search for extraterrestrial life, and more.
KASA aims to secure full membership to obtain rights for domestic industry participation and access to SKA data. Following this official letter of intent, KASA plans to proceed with the necessary domestic and international procedures.
Kang Kyung-in, Director of the Space Science Exploration Mission Directorate at KASA, stated, "Through this participation, KASA will actively support domestic astronomers in creating world-class research achievements and contributing to Korea's rise as a space power. We hope to contribute to solving key challenges in modern astronomy, such as the origin of the universe and the search for extraterrestrial life, through research utilizing SKA data.