"It always comes down to the opportunity of the observatory," Figueroa-Delgado said. While her field of study is nothing related to the radio astronomy, atmospheric studies or planetary science that make up Arecibo Observatory's research legacy, it was through thinking about sustainability in space at the facility's high-school research program that she first encountered the idea of 3D-printed human organs. student in cell biology at Yale University who participated in a high-school research program at the observatory, told "Yes, we have research institutions and labs, but you recognize the observatory in a picture, you know that is in Arecibo and you have heard about it at some point in your lifetime."įigueroa-Delgado is proof of Arecibo's role pointing Puerto Rican students toward careers in science. "This is the only icon of science that we have in the island," Paola Figueroa-Delgado, a Ph.D. Scientist after scientist used the word pride to describe Puerto Ricans' relationship with Arecibo Observatory as the foremost institution of research and education on the island. Related: The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico has collapsed Loss of an icon It hurts a lot, but I think it hurts more because of the context in which this is happening." And so it hurts a little more, I think, because of that. "Puerto Ricans have been through one trauma after the other, especially since 2017. "Our country is crumbling in front of our eyes," Feliú-Mójer said. "I just can't help but question that lack of urgency, and it feels like a bigger theme that Puerto Ricans have experienced over and over, especially in the last three or four years," Mónica Feliú-Mójer, a neurobiologist and the director of communications and science outreach for the nonprofit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico, told. 1, shattering itself and swaths of the dish.įor Puerto Ricans, and Puerto Rican scientists in particular, it was a painful sight. ![]() National Science Foundation (NSF), which owns the site. 9, leaving the observatory at the brink of collapse and with a decommission verdict from the U.S. Just as engineers had prepared a plan to address the damage, a second supporting cable snapped on Nov. (Image credit: Courtesy of the NAIC - Arecibo Observatory, a facility of the NSF)įirst, one of the thick cables supporting the radio telescope's massive equipment platform slipped out of its socket in August. “If you’re a radio astronomer, you’ve probably spent some time of your career at Arecibo.The Arecibo Observatory Visitors' Center was mostly undamaged by the telescope's collapse, according to NSF officials. “We understand how much the site has meant to the community,” said Sean Jones, assistant director for directorate of mathematical and physical sciences at NSF. The reflector dish and the 900-ton platform hanging 450 feet above it previously allowed scientists to track asteroids headed to Earth, conduct research that led to a Nobel Prize and determine if a planet is potentially habitable. The 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter-wide) dish also was featured in the Jodie Foster film “Contact” and the James Bond movie “GoldenEye.” The decision was mourned by scientists around the world who used the telescope at the Arecibo Observatory for years to search for asteroids, planets and extraterrestrial life. The solicitation does not include operational support for current infrastructure at the site that is still in use, including a 12-meter radio telescope or the Lidar facility, which is used to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere to analyze cloud cover and precipitation data. It also seeks the implementation of a research and workforce development program, with the center slated to open next year in the northern mountain town of Arecibo where the telescope was once located. Instead, the agency issued a solicitation for the creation of a $5 million education center at the site that would promote programs and partnerships related to science, technology, engineering and math. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will not rebuild a renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which was one of the world’s largest until it collapsed nearly two years ago. ![]() Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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