[Read the official press release by the French Governement and SKAO]
The SKA Observatory will operate two complementary telescopes: SKA-Low in Australia, dedicated to low-frequency radio astronomy, and SKA-Mid in South Africa, observing at higher radio frequencies. Together, they will open a new window on major scientific questions: the formation of the first stars and galaxies, the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time, the role of magnetic fields in the Universe, the physics of pulsars and gravitational waves, the interstellar medium, transient phenomena, and the conditions that may lead to the formation of planets and possibly life.
France brings to SKAO a long-standing tradition in astronomy, in particular in radio astronomy, together with strong expertise in high-performance computing, data processing and artificial intelligence. These capabilities are essential for SKAO, whose telescopes will generate enormous volumes of data that must be processed in near real time before they can be transformed into science-ready products for the astronomical community.
As recently highlighted by the national SKA conference held in Meudon in May 2026 (https://ska-meudon2026.sciencesconf.org), French teams, coordinated by the SKA-France consortium (CNRS, Inria, CEA, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de Paris-PSL, Université de Bordeaux, Université d’Orléans, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Strasbourg), are already active across many of the main scientific themes of SKAO. These include cosmology, the Epoch of Reionization, galaxy evolution, pulsars, gravitational waves, cosmic magnetism, the interstellar medium and the search for the conditions leading to planets and life.
Through its accession to SKAO, France strengthens its role in a global scientific and technological endeavour that combines fundamental astrophysics, extreme-scale computing, sustainable digital technologies and long-term international cooperation.
Credits : Léonard Petre
Link : https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/fr
Press contacts
- Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space : 01 55 55 82 00
presse-mesr at recherche.gouv.fr
- SKA France
Margaux Arav : margaux.arav at oca.eu
Chiara Ferrari : chiara.ferrari at oca.eu