Vastly more sensitive than the world's best existing radio telescopes, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be one of the largest and most ambitious international science projects ever devised. It will help to answer fundamental questions about the evolution of the universe.
Australia has been shortlisted by the international science community as one of two potential locations for the SKA.
The Australian Government, the State of Western Australia and Australia's premier science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) are working together to maximise Australian participation in the SKA. To support Australia's bid to host the SKA they are establishing Australia's candidate core site in Western Australia and building the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP).
Several Australian universities are also actively engaged in SKA related research activities in Australia. Other state governments are likely to be involved in due course. International partners include the USA, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India and a number of European countries.