The Final Touches
China is busy putting the final touches to the world’s largest radio telescope. The state media has reported that China has got hold of the final piece that will set up the world’s largest telescope for its day of inauguration.
Specifications
The construction of the 500 diameter radio telescope began in 2011. The $180 m telescope is said to take up the place of 30 football fields. The “Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope”, or FAST has been build on a mountain in the south western province of Gizhou.
Advantages
We hope that in the coming years the radio telescope will become the global leader. It has the potential to search for more strange objects, to understand the universe better and will also boost the search for extraterrestrial life. Zheng Xiaonian, deputy head of the National Astronomical Observation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built the telescope, talked about the primary uses of this project.
Operation
A number of trials will follow after the final touches are put on the telescope. The telescope has been build in five years and is expected to begin its operation in September. Space programme has always been a matter of great concern for the Prime Minister of China. President Xi Jinping has called upon his country to establish themselves as a space power. Beijing’s ambition also include building a space station and reaching the moon by 2036.
China insists that this programme is for peaceful purposes. The US defense department has highlighted China’s increasing space capabilities, but still they suspect that China’s activities are aimed to prevent enemies from using space related assets during times of crisis.
Whatever may be the reason for their advancement in the space programme , this introduction of the largest radio telescope is going to bring about a huge revolution in the arena of space science.