Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2016

INSTRUMENTS F AST in its final look, ready to be submitted to a series of func- tionality verifica- tions. [NAOC, Xinhua, VCG via Getty Images] Below, on July 3 rd 2016, FAST is com- pleted and in the heart of the in- strument the cel- ebrations begin. n years). More powerful signals, thus likely intentional, will be recognized up to thou- sands of light years away. This is because the sensitivity of FAST exceeds 50 times that of the best radio telescopes to date used by researchers. Before moving onto the operational phase, the instrument will be submitted until the end of September to a debugging process (bug fixes) and various tests on the sky. After that, the instrument will be used exclusively for a few years by Chinese scientists, before being shared with the in- ternational astronomical community. Project FAST is part of a broader billions- worth space exploration programme, al- ready partially implemented by Beijing, whose goal is mainly to ensure China a strategic role in the control of circumter- restrial space. The effects on scientific re- search and technological applications will inevitably be positive, especially if the Chi- nese implement their biggest two projects of the near future: a permanent space sta- tion by 2020 and the return of humans to the Moon by 2036. the knowledge of the universe that FAST will bring in the coming decades. The most intriguing expectations are concerning the possibility to pick up unintentional com- munications (such as broadcasting signals) of alien civilizations hosted by the 1000 nearest stars to Earth (or within 46 light-