A feasibility report for the FAST scientific research and data processing center, to be built in Guizhou Province, has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.
Experts believe the center will significantly improve the study of the universe -- including the discovery of extraterrestrial life.
With a total investment of roughly 170 million yuan ($24.14 million), the center for China Sky Eye, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope known as FAST, will facilitate three scientific research frameworks -- observation, scientific research and data - providing support for the storage and calculation of massive data generated by long-term operations, media reported.
Xiang Ligang, a senior technology expert, told the Global Times on Monday that in theory, data is being produced from the telescope constantly and is then stored and analyzed, including information about the births and deaths of planets and extraterrestrial life.
"Recording both pulsar and hydrogen data streams requires a massive process of information collection, storage and analysis. The establishment of the center will undoubtedly play an important role in information screening and discovery, and help produce more discoveries and research results in the study of the universe," Xiang said.
Thus far, FAST has detected and certified 114 pulsars, speeding up the stage of scientific output. FAST has accumulated a total observation time of nearly 1,000 hours, which is one third of its whole mission for this year.
In the next three to five years, the high sensitivity of the "eye of the Chinese sky" will likely lead to breakthroughs in low-frequency gravitational wave detection, the origins of rapid radio bursts, and interstellar molecules, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
