Arecibo

Writing to then-NASA administrator Bill Nelson, they complained that NASA’s senior leadership wasn’t doing enough to find potentially hazardous asteroids, that they had no plan to replace the collapsed Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico — a radar facility that, among other things, helped characterize asteroids — and seemed to be dawdling with NEO Surveyor’s budget unnecessarily.

This pilot study, part of the AO327 survey from Arecibo, serves as a foundation for future research on pulsar scintillation and gravitational waves.

"Even years after the Arecibo Observatory's collapse, its data continues to unlock critical information that can advance our understanding of the galaxy and enhance our ability to study phenomena like gravitational waves."

Before the telescope’s collapse, the NSF was contributing $7.5 million annually to Arecibo, and management of the site was led by the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Doubts now swirl, as equipment is taken offline and dismantled, that Arecibo will ever again study the sky.