In January, the Canadian government announced its intention to become a full member of the SKA Observatory. This was followed in March by German Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger‘s announcement of Germany’s intention to join the SKAO during a visit to the SKA site in South Africa. In April, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved the country’s accession to the observatory as a full member.
In policy developments, the SKAO and partners including ESO, the IAU, Chile, South Africa, Spain, and others recently put forward a proposal at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) to create an expert group to advise the committee on the impact of satellite megaconstellations.
Image: © SARAO; German Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (in cream suit) with leaders from the SKAO and SARAO at the SKA-Mid prototype dish in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.