Innovation Report: Could you introduce yourself and explain the relationship between the Square Kilometre Array and MeerKAT?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: I’m Pontsho Maruping, Managing Director of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRF-SARAO). We’re one of the national facilities under the National Research Foundation, primarily focused on radio astronomy. 

The SKA project is managed through an intergovernmental organization called the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, with member countries contributing to building the telescope – SKA-mid in South Africa and SKA-low in Australia.

NRF-SARAO supports the Department of Science and Technology and Innovation in implementing South Africa’s participation in the SKA project. 

My role includes managing support for scientific research, developing infrastructure, stakeholder collaboration, and importantly, human capital development. When South Africa bid to host the telescope, we implemented a human capital development program to ensure we don’t just host the telescope but have South Africans who can use it.

Innovation Report: What motivates you most in your current role?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: The biggest motivator is working with some of the most talented people I’ve ever encountered. 

Many of our engineers and scientists are globally recognized experts because they were involved in designing and developing MeerKAT and SKA. We’ve built local expertise that has allowed South Africa to become competitive in high-technology areas.

I’m also inspired by how our people care about the communities surrounding the telescope sites. They’ve created a very collaborative and engaging atmosphere with these communities.

Innovation Report: Why is hosting the Square Kilometre Array project significant for South Africa and Africa?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: Before this project, South Africa developed the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), an optical telescope in Sutherland. There was then a decision to look at areas where we could have geographic advantage for scientific efforts, and astronomy was recognized as one of these.

Creating the precursor telescopes was a crucial step because this type of array had never been built before. MeerKAT’s success made it easier for other countries to trust becoming members and establishing the telescope here. Our government even put in place legislation to protect “astronomy geographic advantage areas” – keeping the areas around both SALT and SKA radio-quiet to ensure they remain suitable for astronomy.

Innovation Report: Can you discuss some breakthrough discoveries that demonstrate the project’s scientific impact?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: The first major breakthrough came at MeerKAT’s inauguration in 2018 with an image showing the center of the Milky Way. This transformed scientific understanding of that region, demonstrating the super-massive black hole at the heart of our galaxy weighing about 4 million times the mass of the sun. It revealed a chaotic and energetic region containing phenomena not found in more benign areas like our solar system.

Another significant area has been pulsar research. These are ultra-dense rotating neutron stars, remnants of supernova explosions. The telescope has been monitoring the largest sample of pulsars to the highest precision of any existing array, producing compelling results that are advancing our understanding of these mysterious objects.

Innovation Report: How do you see the Square Kilometer Array initiative shaping the future of scientific research and local development on the African continent?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: One of the key initiatives we started right at the beginning was around building human capital development. When we submitted our bid to host the SKA, we had already indicated the possibility of having arrays that expand beyond South Africa’s borders, including countries like Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, and Mauritius. 

We’ve included students from those countries as part of our human capital development program, providing them with bursaries to study science and engineering at universities in South Africa. This has resulted in a growth of astronomy research in Africa, and we believe the project will continue to enhance Africa’s capability in cutting-edge science and technology, inspiring a new generation of African scientists and engineers.

Beyond just astronomers, we’ve also trained engineers from various fields, as building a telescope like MeerKAT and the SKA requires a strong team of multi-disciplinary technical capabilities. These skills are applicable beyond just astronomy, in areas like data science and other high-tech engineering capabilities.

In terms of economic development, having Africa be a player in high-tech industries, rather than just being a consumer of science and technology, will stimulate job creation, infrastructure development, and increased investment in science and technology in general. The international collaboration aspect of astronomy also helps to enhance collaboration in other areas.

Innovation Report: I’d like to focus on the MeerKAT telescope and its role as a precursor to the Square Kilometer Array. Can you tell us about the milestones related to MeerKAT and why it is considered a significant project?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: In February this year, we celebrated 5 years of MeerKAT science. From the minute it was switched on, this telescope started producing unexpected data, being more sensitive than initially expected. This helped to ground-test the technologies for SKA, lowering the risk for the SKA telescope overall, as concepts had already been tested and proven to work well on MeerKAT.

One example is the design change from having the receivers on top of the dish to a Gregorian offset position slightly to the side. This design had never been used in this context before, but was influenced by the success of the MeerKAT prototype.

MeerKAT also allowed for a lot of prior work to be done in getting the SKA telescope developed, as it is the only precursor that will be integrated into the SKA-Mid telescope. This means SKA cannot work without including the MeerKAT dishes, allowing a significant amount of preparatory work to have been carried out.

The groundbreaking scientific results from MeerKAT have also been crucial in enabling the next stage of exploration and discovery once certain initial discoveries are made.

Innovation Report: Why should the average South African citizen be interested in and supportive of the work of NRF-SARAO?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: There are a few key reasons why the average South African should care about NRF-SARAO’s work:

Firstly, the fact that South Africa is hosting this internationally sought-after scientific instrument should instill national pride. Often in developing countries, projects like this are done with little local input, but in this case, the knowledge and expertise has been localized through the development of MeerKAT.

Secondly, the project has created economic opportunities for high-tech industries in South Africa. This means more job opportunities for scientists and engineers, not just at NRF-SARAO, but at the companies that developed subsystems for the telescopes.

For the local communities near the telescope sites, NRF-SARAO has been intentional about creating science and technology engagement programs, getting young people excited about science. They also support local community members to learn trades that are used in the telescope’s maintenance.

Finally, astronomy as a field is inherently inspiring and sparks curiosity about the universe. Even if people don’t pursue careers in astronomy, it’s a fantastic way to demonstrate the potential of science and engineering.

Innovation Report: What aspects of your work tend to surprise people the most when you discuss it with international colleagues?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: I think the two biggest surprises are:

1) Most people have never heard of radio astronomy before. When they think of astronomy, they imagine optical telescopes where you can look through and see the planets. The idea that you can do astronomy using other parts of the spectrum is new to many.

2) The sheer scale of data that this telescope produces is mind-blowing to people. I don’t think there is any other project in South Africa that generates the amount of data that NRF-SARAO does, and this will only continue to grow with the SKA.

The most common question I get is whether there is life out there in the universe. While I’m personally optimistic that there is, I also acknowledge the challenges in detecting it, as our interpretation of life may be limited by our own understanding.

Innovation Report: Looking to the future, what are your particular ambitions or hopes for what NRF-SARAO and the Square Kilometer Array could achieve or discover during your time working on the project?

Ms Pontsho Maruping: In the short term, my main priority is ensuring that we can successfully build the SKA project, as I believe it will revolutionize the study of astronomy in general. 

I’m hopeful that we’ll see continued groundbreaking discoveries in areas like pulsar research, where there is still a lot of untapped potential. I’m also really optimistic that one of the discoveries from this project could potentially lead to a Nobel Prize nomination, given the high volume of publications already coming from MeerKAT in just 5 years.

More broadly, I’m confident that South Africa has the potential for an innovation-led future. While the government could certainly invest more in science and technology, I believe the scientific community here punches above its weight given the resources available. With the right environment to foster innovation, and by leveraging projects like the SKA to attract further investment, I’m optimistic about South Africa’s ability to become a global leader in cutting-edge science and technology.