Opinion: A new Arecibo telescope and radar could help defend our planet
BY HÉCTOR G. ARCE, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 11/22/22 7:00 AM ET
We are coming up on the second anniversary of the destruction of the iconic 1,000-foot telescope/radar at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. For nearly six decades, the Arecibo Observatory was a prime scientific facility that carried out cutting-edge investigations, illuminating our understanding of the universe, solar system and Earth’s atmosphere. The research included Nobel prize-winning science, awe-inspiring discoveries of our cosmos, and studies essential for the protection of our planet from hazardous asteroids.
Soon after the telescope’s collapse, a petition to the White House to rebuild it, started by Puerto Rican students, gathered more than 100,000 signatures in four weeks. Scientists mourned the telescope’s demise and soon after started advocating for the construction of a new one. The Senate, in a rare form of bipartisanship, unanimously passed a resolution that recognized the immense scientific, educational and economic value of the telescope, and encouraged federal agencies “to study means of replacing the scientific capabilities that were lost … utilizing new state-of-the-art technologies at the site.” No other telescope has received so much support from such a wide-range of stakeholders — from the local community to scientists to federal lawmakers.
Yet, last month, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the federal agency in charge of the observatory, decided that the focus of this facility should not be research and that, instead, it should become a STEM education center. The observatory includes a number of instruments that are operational and scientists continue to conduct exciting research with them. Unfortunately, not only has the NSF decided not to rebuild the radio telescope but funds for the new STEM education center at Arecibo will not include support for ongoing research at the site.
As many have indicated, a STEM education without scientists conducting research and without students being able to obtain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art research instruments will be of limited value. Congress and the NSF should affirm science as the Arecibo Observatory’s primary mission, with a world-class STEM education center inspired by that mission — not one that replaces it. Funding for the existing instruments and research should continue while a new telescope is built.
More:
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3742685-a-new-arecibo-telescope-and-radar-could-help-defend-our-planet/
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