The SKATE observing service aims to serve the very strong interest shown by the French scientific community in SKA1 and to capitalize on our investments in SKA “scouts”, by developing within a single framework the service tasks that prepare for SKA, those that concern its precursors and scouts, mainly LOFAR and NenuFAR, while promoting synergies and highlighting transverse tasks. SKA will be a very powerful observatory, but complex to use in some of its observation modes, and users will have access to data mainly through regional data centers (SKA Regional Centers, SRC).
In addition, the French community has access to SKA's precursors and scouts: LOFAR via the International LOFAR Telescope, in which France participates, as well as ASKAP and MeerKAT. Last but not least, NenuFAR, a major national investment, is in the final stages of development, while at the same time beginning operations and scientific exploitation (“Early Science”). SKATE provides a common framework for the development of instrumentation, training and community support, as well as the development of tools for SKA1 and the European SRC, which will constitute French contributions to SKA1 and the SRC. It also enables CNAP staff to evolve their service tasks.
The 6 service tasks identified in SKATE are:
- instrumentation development for NenuFAR and SKA1,
- management of the French LOFAR station (FR606), NenuFAR, and SKA-France governance,
- operation of observation stations: FR606, NenuFAR,
- user support for FR606, LOFAR, NenuFAR, and other scouts, and definition of the support to be provided to SKA users, notably in the context of the future European SKA Regional Center,
- making FR606 and NenuFAR data available in local mode (quality control, archiving, access) and preparing French participation in the SKA Regional Center,
- development of algorithmic and methodological tools for SKA and its scouts, as well as for the European SKA Regional Center. Most of these tools are transversal to SKA and the scouts, and their development and use on the scouts is essential to validate them as a contribution to SKA and the SRC.
SKATE is the result of the merger of the LOFAR-NenuFAR observation service with the SKA observation service.