Partners celebrate SKA construction milestone

Alongside celebrations at the SKA telescope sites and the Observatory’s HQ, partner institutions also held events to mark the construction milestone.

The SKA Switzerland (SKACH) consortium held an event at EPFL in Lausanne with talks from Swiss Scientific Delegate to the SKA Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib and representatives from industry, a demonstration of a radio telescope and a private tour of the Cosmos Archaeology exhibition, which features an SKA-Mid site simulator

At ASTRON in the Netherlands, the community spirit was very much alive as well during the construction commencement ceremonies. There was an abundance of themed cakes, along with a video screening of the Dutch science minister’s remarks, and speeches from Director-General Dr Jessica Dempsey and Head of the Dutch SKA Office at ASTRON Michiel van Haarlem highlighting the significance of the moment.

Sweet treats were also central to the celebrations at Chalmers University in Sweden, where the traditional “fika” coffee break gathering featured a beautifully decorated SKAO cake, being enjoyed in the photos by Onsala Space Observatory Director John Conway.

The SKA Switzerland (SKACH) consortium held an event at EPFL in Lausanne with talks from Swiss Scientific Delegate to the SKA Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib and representatives from industry, a demonstration of a radio telescope and a private tour of the Cosmos Archaeology exhibition, which features an SKA-Mid site simulator

Credit: SKACH

At ASTRON in the Netherlands, the community spirit was very much alive as well during the construction commencement ceremonies. There was an abundance of themed cakes, along with a video screening of the Dutch science minister’s remarks, and speeches from Director-General Dr Jessica Dempsey and Head of the Dutch SKA Office at ASTRON Michiel van Haarlem highlighting the significance of the moment.

Credit: ASTRON

Sweet treats were also central to the celebrations at Chalmers University in Sweden, where the traditional “fika” coffee break gathering featured a beautifully decorated SKAO cake, being enjoyed in the photos by Onsala Space Observatory Director John Conway.

Credit: OSO