Kenya has received documents signifying the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Kenya and partners in the Square Kilometer Array project for the establishment of the high-resolution telescope in Africa.

Prof. Collette Suda, the Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Education and Principal Secretary, State Department for University Education received the signed Memorandum of Understanding on the SKA Project Partnership from Hon. MT Kubayi-Ngubane, Minister of Science and Technology of South Africa in Cape Town.

The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project is an international collaboration involving nine African countries (Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia) and Australia.

The project will build the world’s largest radio telescope for use in outer space observation and astrophysics research with up to one square kilometer information collecting area, representing one of the largest scientific endeavors in history.

The SKA radio telescope will be co-located in the project Partner Countries, connected through a dedicated Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (VBIN).

Ghana is the first partner country apart from South Africa of the VLBI Network to complete the conversion of a communications antenna into a functioning radio telescope. The 32-meter converted telecommunications antenna at the Ghana Intelsat Satellite Earth Station at Kutunse will be integrated into the African VLBI Network (AVN) in preparation for the second phase construction of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) across the African continent. The other countries will follow starting with Kenya.

Photo Credit by Google

Story compiled by RB Correspondent

The Article;https://www.skatelescope.org/africa/