Editorial

Dear Friends and Colleagues, one can’t say that the world isn’t throwing some challenges in front of us all: we’ve had 2.5 years of a pandemic, which has still not fully receded; we have war in Europe; and, over the last 9 months or so, the spectre of rapidly increasing energy costs and inflation in some parts of the world. Climate change is clearly rearing its ugly head, with devastating floods in Pakistan, megafires in North America, and drought across China, Europe, East Africa and elsewhere.

This might seem to be too much but nevertheless I look upon SKAO and our global partners as one small, bright spark amongst the gloom and doom we read in our newspapers, and a live exemplar of collective effort driven by a common goal/noble mission. Due to the efforts of the entire SKAO staff, our partners in CSIRO and SARAO and in all of the institutions amongst our member states, we continue to surge ahead with more construction contracts signed, work proceeding, milestones being achieved and real progress visible to all. As indicated in Contact 10, we are not immune from what is happening in the wider world, but we are trying to anticipate issues as much as possible, and are working to overcome them as they arise with the support of Council. We are on an inexorable path to building the two largest radio telescopes in the world and we should all feel pride in what is being achieved. As always, Contact brings stories to its readership that emphasise that progress, and I hope you read them all.

At the time of writing this foreword, it was announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Head of State of three of our SKAO family (Australia, Canada and the UK) had passed away. As a mark of respect to our host country the UK, we have published a short statement on the SKAO website to express our condolences to the Royal family, and the citizens and governments of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.

As an anecdote, some of our readers will remember that the Queen almost visited the SKAO HQ in early 2020. We have hosted many VIPs, senior government figures, MPs, etc. over time but this would have been the first time we would have hosted a Head of State. After countless meetings and careful and extensive planning with a large number of stakeholders, we hosted a final scouting visit from Buckingham Palace literally days before the visit, ready for what would have been a memorable event… until Covid struck, and the UK and SKAO entered into lockdown, three days before the planned visit. The commemorative plaque was never used, it now sits in the Comms storeroom for posterity.

Prof. Philip Diamond, SKAO Director-General

The flags of Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the SKA Observatory at half-mast on Friday 9 September following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

SKAO