Pretoria - Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor today launched a national campaign to build support for the bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in South Africa.
With only a few months left before the bid winner is announced, the campaign, built around astronomy and the moon as themes, is set to stimulate interest in the initiative and illustrate how Africa is fast emerging as a global hub of astronomy.
All South Africans are encouraged to join the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in its SKA bid by placing messages of support at http://www.ska.ac.za/endorsements/index.php.
The DST, in partnership with the South African State Theatre, will use the remaining months to rally support from communities countrywide to play their part by hosting Full Moon Fever campaign on Fridays, Saturdays or Mondays closest to the full moon.
The launch combines exhibitions, a laser show, performing arts presentation of African Stars and a night sky view.
In addition, there will be career exhibitions in partnership with the Tshwane University of Technology and University of South Africa to highlight the various fields of science and technology available to students and possible career paths with special focus on astronomy and radio astronomy.
Pandor pointed to South Africa's pristine environment for radio and optical astronomy and the fact that the country enacted the Astronomy Geographic Act of 2008 to protect its astronomy reserves from detrimental effects.
One of the positives resulting from this was the Southern African Largest Telescope (SALT), the giant facility that has turned the country into a prime destination for the world's scientists and researchers.
"The establishment of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) is a welcome development that has become an important vehicle for promoting our growing satellite industry and a wide range of innovations in space sciences, earth observation, communications, navigation and engineering," Pandor said.
As part of the African commitment to the SKA project, South Africa is building the Karoo Array Telescope, the MeerKAT, in the Northern Cape.
This telescope will be a world-class radio telescope in its own right when completed in 2016.
This precursor is a demonstration telescope of technologies being considered for the SKA. Phase 1 of MeerKAT, which is KAT-7 (a seven-dish array telescope), is now complete with operations beginning in early 2012.
