Local impact study of HERA shows direct benefits of radio astronomy infrastructure

BY MATHIEU ISIDRO (SKAO)

The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has released a local impact study looking at the benefits for local communities stemming from the hosting of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA)* – an SKA precursor facility – in the country.

Construction of HERA began in 2015, with the full array reaching completion in 2021. SARAO managed the construction of the infrastructure in close collaboration with US institutions.

The aim of the HERA impact study undertaken by SARAO was to understand the direct investment and benefits of cohosted radio astronomy infrastructure to the local economy in South Africa, at both the national and provincial level.

The report’s findings indicate that South Africa received substantial direct foreign investment for construction of the infrastructure to the sum of more than R41.5 million (€2.4m) for the period 2013-2021, comprising R38 million from the US and R3.5 million from the UK. South Africa contributed over R32 million to HERA and associated activities in that period, including human capital development in the form of postgraduate scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships. Most of the investment towards infrastructure was made to the Northern Cape, with materials sourced from local suppliers during construction of the infrastructure, demonstrating the value of hosting such infrastructure for local businesses.

At a regional level, it was found that Carnarvon benefited most from the investment. In terms of employment, over the course of seven years, the construction of HERA created employment for 24 individuals who were mostly recruited from the town.

“The impact study shows how South Africa can benefit from smaller scale, co-hosted instrumentation through business development to the employment it can create for people living in some of the most impoverished and rural geographical areas in the country,” explained Dr Bonita de Swardt, SARAO Programme Manager: Strategic Partnerships for Human Capital Development (HCD) and author of the report.

On a national level, the impact study found growing participation of South African researchers in the HERA collaboration, mainly as a result of continuous financial support towards further education. This support led to increased participation of researchers based at local universities in the collaboration, ensuring South Africa’s representation in world-class research conducted with this instrument.

*HERA is an array of 350 antennas situated next to the MeerKAT radio telescope in the Northern Cape province. It is a US-led project that forms part of a large international collaboration representative of institutions from Europe, South Africa, the UK and US. The goal of HERA is to observe how the first structures formed in the very early stages of the Universe, as the first stars and galaxies lit up space. The instrument is now undergoing commissioning and validation of its data.

Part of the team of local artisans from the town of Carnarvon who helped build the HERA telescope, situated next to MeerKAT in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

Credit: Scott Dynes.