South Africa hosts SKAO Council

BY LETEBELE JONES (SKAO)

In October, the quarterly SKAO Council meeting was held in South Africa, the first time it has been held at a site other than SKAO Global Headquarters.

The meeting kicked off with an exciting and insightful visit to the SKA site and the town of Carnarvon in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape. Visiting the site and surrounding communities enabled Council members to see and understand what has been accomplished so far by SARAO colleagues, not only from a scientific and technological point of view with regards to the MeerKAT telescope and its future expansion, but also in terms of local investment in support of the local communities.

The visit also allowed Council members to witness firsthand the SKA-MPG dish prototype erected on site, as well as emerging activities in preparation for the SKA-Mid telescope, including the ground work related to the future construction camp where contractors will be accommodated.

The trip to the Karoo was carefully planned and well executed by the joint SKAO and SARAO team, which bodes well for the future of the collaboration between the SKAO and the host country.

The October 2023 SKAO Council meeting will be held in Australia, allowing Council members to see the progress at the SKA-Low site, 10 months after the official start of on-site construction that took place on 5 December 2022.

SKAO Council #7 took place in October 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa

The SKAO Council visiting the MeerKAT/SKA site to witness progress and ongoing activities ahead of the start of construction of SKA-Mid.