A historic step with the accession of France to SKAO

"France will join the SKA Observatory." It was in these terms that French President Emmanuel Macron, then on a state visit to South Africa, announced France’s membership in the SKA intergovernmental organization.

South Africa, along with Australia, is indeed one of the two host countries of the SKA Observatory (SKAO) radio telescopes, scientific instruments that promise to revolutionize our understanding of the universe.

The official announcement of the Head of State comes after a unanimous vote of the SKAO Council, having accepted the fact of counting France among its members. It makes France the first country to join SKAO, beyond its seven founding members : Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the state visit, President Emmanuel Macron and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted a number of areas that the SKA project was addressing, including business creation, and education and skills development for the future.

Representatives :

Better understand the historical significance of this decision through our online publications :

	4 février 2021 L’Observatoire de Paris - PSL se réjouit du souhait de la France d’intégrer SKAO
	3 octobre 2019 Inauguration de NenuFAR, un radiotélescope unique au monde
	1er juillet 2019 Radiotélescope de nouvelle génération, NenuFAR entre en exploitation scientifique
	26 juillet 2018 Un consortium français rejoint l’organisation SKA-O
	10 novembre 2016 Des chercheurs français améliorent la qualité des images radio en vue de SKA
	16 juillet 2016 Première image pour MeerKAT, instrument précurseur de SKA
	Août 2014 Lancement d’un radiotéléscope de nouvelle génération à Nançay

Dernière modification le 21 décembre 2021