Page 12 - issue 28 2020

12 News

BIUST is set to place Botswana at the

forefront of Planetary Science research

by : Mwiza Kunyuma

n 2018, the Botswana International develop a radio telescope network projected cost of €1.7 billion in its first
University of Science and across Africa that would act as one phase. The project is set to have Radio
ITechnology (BIUST) was designated single instrument known as Very Long telescopes placed across the world
as the Host Institution for (African Very Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), whilst from Africa to New Zealand. This will
Long Baseline Interferometer Network) allowing science to be performed bring discoveries across astrophysics
AVN Botswana and the Project Director underway by the individual telescopes and stretch technology to its limits, and
Mr. Kgomotso Thelo has recently taken themselves. The African Very Long have many spin-off benefits for nations
up his post at the University. Baseline Interferometer Network (AVN) participating.
is an SKA precursor.
The country comes to the global project There are organisations from 14
as one of nine partner countries in The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) countries globally currently as main
Africa and a few in Southern Africa. global project is the largest ground- members of SKA including the United
The aim of the AVN project is to based astronomy project ever with a Kingdom (UK), where its headquarters
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