The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science has upgraded a world-leading radio telescope in Western Australia to 10 times its original capacity.
Welcoming the upgrade, the Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator Michaelia Cash said it was Phase Two of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) which had been designed to examine the origins of the universe.
Senator Cash said that since it began operations in 2013 the telescope had already collected huge volumes of astronomical data to inform scientific research.
“The upgraded MWA gives Australian scientists a telescope 10 times more powerful in its capacity to explore the universe,” Senator Cash said.
“It confirms Australia’s place at the global centre of astronomy.”
She said the MWA was a crucial precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a next‑generation radio telescope that will be built in Western Australia and hosted jointly by Australia and South Africa.
She said the SKA would be the largest and most advanced radio telescope ever constructed and would be used by scientists from around the world to make major discoveries about the universe.
The launch of the MWA upgrade was held at Curtin University, which operates the MWA on behalf of an international collaboration of 21 universities and research institutes from seven countries.
Senator Cash said the Phase Two upgrade had resulted in an expansion of the international partnership for the telescope from 14 to 21 institutions.
