In terms of both sensitivity and survey speed, SKA will exceed all current instruments by an order of magnitude. SKA has numerous scientific objectives : observation of the 21 cm signal from the epoch of reionisation, study of pulsars, cosmology, surveys of galaxies in HI, cosmic magnetism, origins of life, etc.
Construction of the instrument is in full swing and the first cycle of observations is scheduled for 2030. At the same time, member countries, including France very soon, of the SKA Observatory (an intergovernmental organisation whose mission is to build and operate the instrument) are working to set up Science Regional Centres (SRC), whose objective will be to provide scientists with data ready for analysis, as well as the computing power and tools to carry out this analysis.
The COSGAL team at LUX is actively contributing to preparations for SKA, particularly through its work on precursors (MeerKAT, ASKAP) and pathfinders (NenuFAR). Its members participate in several Science Working Groups (e.g. Epoch of Reionisation, HI Galaxy Science, Magnetism, etc.). In addition, LUX researchers and engineers actively contribute to the activities involved in setting up the French node of the SRC network.
