Onsala Space Observatory has been awarded a substantial grant from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), securing funding for its radio astronomy activities. The observatory is the largest of twenty Swedish science infrastructures awarded grants for the next four years.
The Swedish Research Council has awarded 154 million SEK to fund Onsala Space Observatory’s activities in supporting and operating telescopes and other equipment for radio astronomy.
In its assessment, the research council wrote that the facility is “a truly outstanding research infrastructure of national and international interest”.
Part of Chalmers University of Technology since 1949, Onsala Space Observatory provides access to scientific equipment, expertise and support for research in astronomy and geosciences. The observatory represents Sweden as the country’s national research infrastructure for radio astronomy.
The observatory’s work in radio astronomy makes it possible for scientists to measure radio waves from space with the aim of understanding the universe and our place in it. Onsala Space Observatory also provides frontline facilities for measuring the Earth, its movements and atmosphere. Its work in geosciences is directly funded by the Swedish Mapping Authority, Lantmäteriet.
“This grant will help us enable world-class technology development for astronomy, but more besides. We can provide scientists access to the very best radio telescopes – both our own telescopes here in Onsala, and big international facilities like ALMA and the SKA telescopes”, says John Conway, Professor of radio astronomy at Chalmers and Director of Onsala Space Observatory.
“In the near future we can expect many exciting scientific discoveries, for example new images of black holes, but also in understanding phenomena like dark matter, dark energy and fast radio bursts. We’ll also get closer to understanding the origins of life in the universe,” he adds.
Two major technology projects will benefit from the new grant.
The observatory’s world-leading GARD group plans to develop and deliver receivers to the ALMA telescope in Chile that will dramatically increase its capabilities, helping astronomers study fainter and more distant objects, with impacts on studies of both planet formation and the universe’s first galaxies.
During the next four years, the observatory will also develop a new Triband camera for its iconic 20-m telescope, a project supported by 13 million SEK from the Hasselblad Foundation announced in 2025.
The new grant also strengthens Onsala Space Observatory’s role in providing both human expertise and computing power to help scientists work with the world’s biggest facilities for studying the universe’s radio waves – in particular the telescopes in South Africa and Australia run by the SKA Observatory, which Sweden joined in 2025.
Contacts
Robert Cumming, astronomer and communicator, Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, robert.cumming@chalmers.se, +46704933114, +46317725500
John Conway, Director, Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, john.conway@chalmers.se
