The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), a major international project long slated for construction in Hawaii, might be getting a new home.
Last month, the administration of US president Donald Trump announced plans to abandon further support for the telescope, as part of its proposals to slash by half funding for the US National Science Foundation (NSF), which has until now supported the telescope’s design.
Now the Spanish government has pitched to bring the giant facility to La Palma, in Spain’s Canary Islands — and backed up the effort with a pledge to contribute €400 million (US$470 million).
“Spain reinforces its commitment as a refuge for science, betting on excellent research and technological innovation,” wrote the Spanish minister for science and innovation, Diana Morant, on X, as she announced the funding on 23 July.
According to a statement from her ministry, Morant has already submitted a formal proposal to host the telescope to the TMT board, which would have to back such a move for it to go ahead. The TMT was “at risk of paralysis”, added the minister.
A new Generation
The telescope’s 30-metre light-collecting mirror would dwarf those of today’s best optical telescopes. It is one of three telescopes of this scale now under development, and which will allow astronomers to study the cosmos with unprecedented resolution. La Palma has long been mentioned as a back-up location for the telescope, should its development stall on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea mountain, where activists had opposed its construction. A disadvantage of the Spanish site is that, at 2,250 metres high, La Palma is lower than Mauna Kea‘s 4,050 metres. This means the telescope would have more atmosphere to see through, affecting the quality of the observations.
