The SKAO is an extensive ground-based astronomy initiative involving multiple countries to build and operate two telescopes for global scientific use. Canada recently joined the SKAO as its tenth member, alongside Australia, China, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.

The SKAO will feature numerous antennas, including hundreds of mid-to-high frequency ones in South Africa and over 100,000 low-frequency antennas in Australia. MDA Space's contract involves developing the Correlator Beamformer, a data processing engine to handle the massive volumes of cosmic signals received by the telescopes. This technology, designed with the NRC, will process signals thousands of times faster than average computer speeds, providing scientists with rapid access to extensive new data and insights about the universe.

"MDA Space is proud to be contributing to this important international scientific endeavour that will listen and look out into space to expand our understanding of the universe," said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space. "Projects of this size, scope and significance present a unique opportunity to showcase the expertise and innovation of Canadian astronomers, astrophysicists and industry while driving new discoveries and advancements in science and technology."

"SKAO has been a top priority for the Canadian astronomical community for over 20 years, and it is very exciting to see Canada's participation become a reality," said Dr. Luc Simard, Director General, NRC's Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre. "It opens the door to ground-breaking discoveries, cutting-edge technologies and societal benefits that will teach us a lot about the universe we live in and how a large international family of nations can explore it together."

Related Links
Square Kilometre Array Observatory
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It