NSF Forms Expert Panel to Assess Competing Thirty Meter Telescope Project: A Look at the Race for Funding

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a deadline of September to make a decision on whether to advance the Thirty Meter Telescope to the final design stage. This telescope project is in competition with a similar project in Chile for limited NSF funding. Initially, the NSF had plans to support two “extremely large telescopes” with apertures between 25 and 100 meters: the Thirty Meter Telescope in Maunakea and the Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile. However, the cost of each project has now reached nearly $3 billion.

In February, the NSF announced a $1.6 billion cap on its investment in extremely large telescopes. This was followed by an announcement from NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan at a May board meeting that the next step is to assemble an expert panel to assess each project. The panel will analyze various aspects such as progress since preliminary design reviews, partnerships, risks and mitigation strategies, government models, scientific complementarity with other telescopes, opportunities for early career scientists, and engagement of the public.

Panchanathan clarified that this panel’s purpose is not to make a decision on constructing a telescope but to gather critical information to inform the decision-making process on advancing either project to the final design stage. The impact of supporting a project on agency resources during the design, construction, and operation phases will also be considered by the panel. While the panel is still being formed, a report is expected to be submitted to the NSF by September.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has set up an expert panel tasked with assessing two competing projects for funding: one in Hawaii and another in Chile. These projects aim to build extremely large telescopes with an estimated cost of nearly $3 billion each.

The initial plan was for NSF to fund two “extremely large telescopes” with an aperture between 25 and 100 meters: Thirty Meter Telescope in Maunakea and Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile.

However, due to rising costs, both projects have exceeded their budgets.

To help decide which project will receive funding, NSF established an expert panel that would analyze various factors such as progress since preliminary design reviews, partnerships