MSV-2035 Astronomy Document - Inside Design - FINAL - FINAL

Astronomy & Astrophysics 73 are also under progress. All the above activities are providing valuable experience to scientists, engineers and industries in the country that will enable the community to build a national large segmented mirror telescope and the required high precision instruments including adaptive optics. 5.1.2 SquareKilometerArray In the domain of radio astronomy, India is actively involved in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project, which is a state-of-the-art, global project that aims to build the biggest and most sensitive radio telescope, for addressing a wide range of cutting-edge science goals. The observatorywill be co-located inAustralia and SouthAfrica, with operational headquarters in the United Kingdom. At present, 12 nations are participating in this Mega Science Project that is expected to revolutionise radio astronomy, while driving the growth of many important new state-of-the-art technologies. The project has completed the detailed design of SKAPhase-1, and has entered the Construction of this phase, with 2027 as the target date of completion and transitioning into full-fledged operations stage, with execution of key science projects commencing around 2029. Participation from industry on a large scale has been, and will be, an important ingredient in the design and construction of the SKA. The SKA Phase-1 observatory consists of two telescopes, SKA-Low (in Australia) and SKA-mid (in South Africa). The SKA-Low is an array of dipole antenna stations designed to cover the frequency range from 50 to 350 MHz. The 512 stations will be arranged in a large core with three spiral arms, spread over a distance of 65 km. Each station will contain 256 dipole antennas, with highly flexible arrangements for forming multiple beams for various applications. The SKA-mid will consist of an array of about 200 offset Gregorian dish antennas, with receivers designed to cover the frequency range 350 MHz to 14 GHz. Most of the dishes will be concentrated in a core, with three spiral arms extending over 150 km. High capacity optical fibre systems, sophisticated digital signal processing hardware, super- computing capabilities for real-time generation of images and other data products, and a complex end-to-end observatorymanagement systemare some of the other key technology elements of the SKAPhase-1. The key science goals of the SKA Phase-1 have a very wide scope covering areas such as (1) strong-field tests of gravity using pulsars and black holes (2) origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism (3) Cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionisation, and (4) cradle of life and astrobiology. India has been an active member of the SKA initiative since its early days (2010 onwards). India has played an important role during the Design Phase of the SKA, where a team from NCRA along with industry partners, led the design effort from initial concept to the successful final critical design review for the Telescope Manager (TM) System of the SKA Phase-1 – the end-to-end observatory management system that will be the brain and nerve centre of the entire, distributed observatory. India also participated in the design of the Pulsar Search System (PSS) and the Signal and Data Transport System for SKA Phase-1. Along with this, the Indian community has made significant contributions in several areas of SKA science through theoretical developments, computer simulations and observations with SKA pathfinder and precursor facilities, and has a well defined science case developed for using the SKAin the future. Currently, India is engaged in the Early Prototyping Phase of the work, while preparing for the Main Construction Phase of SKA. This includes the development and delivery of early prototype modules of the TMSystem and the PSS, and also work on understanding the early prototypes for the SKA-Low station digital processing units. During the Construction Phase, India will be involved in the SKAin 4 different areas : (i) as the Tier-1 lead country in the delivery MEGA SCIENCE VISION-2035