Cleaning up the radio telescope on the iconic Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico according to the National Science Foundation (NSF) can cost between $ 30 and $ 50 million.
The cost estimate, released on Friday (March 5), is set out in an NSF report required by Congress to the giant radio telescope. suspended science platform crashed through the 1,000-foot (305-meter) dish on December 1st. Two supporting cables broke on the telescope in the months before the crash.
The crash occurred less than two weeks after the NSF decided the structure was too unstable to repair, and began planning for a controlled demolition. Instead, the agency was left to clean up the wreckage.
As part of the legislation funded by NSF until the end of September 2021, Congress requested a report setting out the status of the investigation into the collapse of the agency, the plan to clear the site and the procedure for determining whether the telescope will be replaced. NSF published this report on Friday.
Related: Despite the collapse of the radio telescope, more science has to do with Arecibo Observatory
The biggest news in the seven-page report is an initial estimate of the cost of cleaning the radio telescope site, which NSF is currently tying between $ 30 million and $ 50 million. The agency noted that costs would be split between the 2021 financial year, which began on October 1, and the 2022 financial year.
The report emphasizes safety, as NSF did during the fall of the telescope. “Security assurance remains NSF’s highest priority,” officials wrote in the report. “This includes not only the safety of staff on site, but also the safety of the environment in the area and the need to address concerns about historical and cultural preservation.”
The Arecibo Observatory: Puerto Rico’s giant radio telescope in pictures
NSF reported that it is in talks with a number of agencies about possible implications of the cleanup process, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office.
Most relevant at this stage is what the future of the Arecibo Observatory might look like. At the moment, the facility is focused on the science that can complete it without the massive radio telescope, but scientists have also been interested in replacing the dish with a new, modern instrument.
The report does not provide any insight into whether this will take place, but does suggest that NSF is planning a community workshop currently being held in April, during which scientists will consider what possible research opportunities are worth discussing thoroughly.
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.