Crew removes telescope equipment from Mauna Kea

摘要

Construction equipment for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the top of the Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island is being relocated off the mountaintop. The equipment has sat idle since the state's high court revoked a permit for the telescope earlier this month (Greenwire, Dec. 3). "We respect the Hawaii Supreme Court decision and, as good neighbors and stewards of the mountain, TMT has begun relocating construction vehicles and equipment," Henry Yang, chairman of the TMT International Observatory's board of governors, said in a statement. The $1.4 billion TMT project -- led by the University of California, the California Institute of Technology and a consortium of international organizations -- has been in the works for more than a decade and faces further delays that could extend years into the future.