China has hoisted the final piece
into position on what will be the world’s largest radio telescope, which it
will use to explore space and help in the hunt for extraterrestrial life.
The five hundred metre aperture spherical
telescope, is the size of 30 football fields and has been cut out of a
mountain in the south-western province of Guizhou.
Scientists would start debugging and
trials of the telescope, said Zheng Xiaonian, deputy head of the National
Astronomical Observation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built the
telescope.
“The project has the potential to
search for more strange objects to better understand the origin of the universe
and boost the global hunt for extraterrestrial life,” Zheng said, according to
the Xinhua news agency.
The telescope, which has taken about
five years to build, is expected to begin operations in September.
Advancing China’s space programme is
a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to
establish itself as a space power.
China’s ambitions include putting an
astronaut on the moon by 2036 and building a space station. It has begun work
on the latter.
China insists its programme is for
peaceful purposes but the US defence department has highlighted China’s
increasing space capabilities, saying it is pursuing activities aimed to
prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.
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