The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) is an international scientific endeavor to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with a collecting area of one square kilometer. The SKA will be built in two phases: Phase 1 in South Africa and Australia; and Phase 2, which will be about 10 times larger than Phase 1, at a yet-to-be determined location.
When completed, the SKA will enable scientists to study the Universe in unprecedented detail, providing new insights into how it works and how it came to be. It will also help answer some of the most fundamental questions about our place in the Universe.
The SKA has been designed as an open science project, with data from the telescope made available to astronomers worldwide. Construction of Phase 1 is expected to begin in 2018, with first light expected in 2020.