India and the Square Kilometer Array Project : 10 Jan, 2024

Why in News:

• India is set to gain full member status in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project, an international scientific collaboration.

About the SKA Project:

• The SKA is a collection of thousands of dish antennas functioning as one unit.
• The project aims to create a large effective area for collecting radio waves, originally intended to be one square kilometer.
• The antennas are located in South Africa and Australia, in remote areas to minimize signal interference.

India’s Role in SKA:

• India has been part of the SKA project since the 1990s, contributing to its design, development, and the negotiation of the SKA Observatory Convention.
• India’s main contribution is in developing the Telescope Manager, the software to run the entire facility.
• Plans are underway to set up an SKA regional center in India as part of a global network for data processing and storage.

Benefits for India:

• India has a strong background in radio astronomy, with facilities like the GMRT near Pune. Full member status ensures preferential access to SKA facilities, proportional to India’s contribution.
• The project involves high-end technologies, offering learning opportunities for scientists, academics, and industry.
• Indian scientists plan to use SKA for research in areas like early universe evolution, galaxy formation, neutron star physics, and solar sciences.