Some of the dishes that make up the Square Kilometre Array’s radio telescope system. This kind of “blue skies” research can have great real-world value.
MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP via Getty Images
Vanessa McBride, International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development
The pandemic has underscored that the world requires agility for survival. That makes blue skies science, which encourages curiosity and nimble thinking, perhaps more important than ever.
School children at the site of the KAT-7 radio telescope in Carnarvon, South Africa.
Kevin Govender