MeerKAT radio telescope project a hopeful sign SA is not a lost cause

In the midst of so much failure in our society – of ethics, of morality and, most of all, competence – it is difficult to find a glimmer of hope in the gloom. But, in the back of beyond, our scientists are proving that we can compete with the best in the world.

In the deep Karoo, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory is operating the ground-breaking MeerKAT radio telescope.

The system has been operational since 2018 and consists of 64 dishes, each with a diameter of 13.5m. It gathers huge amounts of data by receiving radio waves and that data is used to better understand astronomical phenomena, light years from our planet.

ALSO READ: SA’s MeerKAT telescope team awarded 2023 Group Achievement Award

MeerKAT is a precursor telescope for the SKA (Square Kilometre Array), which is a multinational project to build a radio telescope with multiple receivers in various countries.

The fact that South Africans have been entrusted with scientific projects with global importance and scale indicates the confidence the rest of the world has in our scientists and engineers. But, even more importantly, the mere existence of such projects attracts young people to science, with positive results for the country.

ALSO READ: MeerKAT spots new galaxies ‘in plain sight’

It has also meant that there has been something of a reversal of the brain drain of the top scientists involved in these fields who, in the past, had gone overseas to further their careers and to do world-class work. Now, that opportunity is offered at home.

The projects have also directly benefitted communities around them through the deployment of tutors, education resources and learnerships. And some of the technology developed for MeerKAT has been used in personal computer applications.

This is the real face of South African technical innovation, not the fine words about the Fourth Industrial Revolution spouted by our politicians. It’s also a hopeful sign that the country is not a lost cause.

ALSO READ: Royal Astronomical Society awards MeerKAT telescope team