A high-level visit to the Australian SKA site has seen ambassadors, high commissioners, and senior mission representatives from multiple countries welcomed to Wajarri Yamaji Country in outback Western Australia.

Group photo of around 35 people in hi-vis jackets standing in front of an SKA-Low station — Members of the SKAO team with visiting diplomatic officials during the 8 October visit to the SKA-Low site. Credit: SKAO/CSIROCredit: SKAO/CSIRO

Co-organised by the SKA Observatory and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, the visit showcased Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, to delegations from 12 nations – Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom – and the European Union.

The SKAO is responsible for building and operating two of the world’s largest radio telescopes, SKA-Low in Australia and SKA-Mid in South Africa, and has its headquarters in the UK.

Visitors were shown the extensive progress of the SKA-Low telescope since its construction began more than two years ago, as well as two of the precursor instruments that paved the way for the SKA telescopes – CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope and the Curtin University-led Murchison Widefield Array telescope.

The visit offered a unique opportunity to demonstrate to representatives from current and prospective SKAO members global collaboration in action, showcasing the technological benefits that come from 16 countries from across five continents all contributing to the project.

The visit comes just two weeks after another high-level diplomatic visit to the SKA-Mid site on the occasion of the G20 Research and Innovation week in South Africa that demonstrated the progress and positive impact the project is having on society.

“At its heart, it is the scientific curiosity of our member states and their investment in radio astronomy that are allowing us to contribute to some of society’s immediate needs,” said SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond.

“We have a shared commitment to use the Observatory as a tool to advance scientific knowledge, foster international cooperation, and to build and operate a research infrastructure for the benefit of humankind.”

The tour also highlighted the important partnership between the Wajarri Yamaji, the Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of the observatory site, the Australian Government, CSIRO and the SKAO to establish the SKA-Low telescope on Wajarri Country.

The SKAO is making excellent progress constructing the 131,072-antenna SKA-Low and the 197-dish SKA-Mid telescopes. Both telescopes have recently "opened their eyes" on the Universe, as the systems are being slowly brought into operation.

The construction of the SKA telescopes is driven by ambitious science goals that will fundamentally alter our current understanding of the Universe over the coming decades, positioning the SKAO as one of the world’s premiere international research infrastructures of the 21^st century. In Australia, SKA-Low is being built in collaboration with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.

We recognise and acknowledge the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have traditionally lived on the lands on which our facilities are located. We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as the Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of the site where the SKA-Low telescope is being built.