By Tim Binnall
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence will take an enormous step forward in September when a massive new telescope in China joins in on the hunt for aliens. Following a lengthy period of construction and testing, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) became fully operational earlier this year. And, in a few short months, the telescope will reportedly start scouring space for possible signs of ET life.
FAST's chief scientist Zhang Tongjie announced the timetable this week and stressed that the endeavor will not interfere with any other projects being done by the facility, which include detecting fast radio bursts and other intriguing space oddities. While the monstrous facility stands as the world's largest telescope, Tongjie cautioned that people should temper their expectations as any discovery of an intriguing signal would require rigorous testing before being declared 'the one.'
To that end, the current plan is for the telescope to conduct a five-year-long "sky survey" which will collect a massive amount of data for scientists. That information alone will likely require a decade to fully analyze, meaning that it could take fifteen years for an alien signal spotted by FAST to be confirmed and announced to the public.