After the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) pulled funding to build the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii, the project’s future has been doubt. But last week Spain stepped up in a effort to save the project.
In 2015 Canada committed $243.5 million over 10 years to secure Canada’s participation in the $1.5 billion project. It’s a project the Canadian Astronomical Society / Société Canadienne D’Astronomie (CASCA) and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA) very much want to see proceed.
In a letter dated June 26, 2025, and sent to the National Science Foundation, CASCA and ACURA state that they “are writing to express our serious concern with the recent US National Science Foundation decision not to proceed to the Final Design stage for the Thirty Meter Telescope.”
The letter outlines the investment Canada’s has already made. “Canada has invested significant human and financial resources towards building the science case, designing the dome, and developing a world-leading adaptive optics system for the Thirty Meter Telescope. The need for the capabilities offered by the Thirty Meter Telescope has only grown since we formally joined the project in 2014, and the current design is innovative and powerful.”
The letter makes it clear that Canada wants the project move forward saying, “Furthermore, we applaud the efforts of the Thirty Meter Telescope leadership to engage with the Native Hawaiian community in establishing a new, community-driven way to decide on future developments on Maunakea.”
SpaceQ spoke with person familiar with the project who was not authorized to speak about the project who said the NSF decision effectively stopped any chance of the telescope being built in Hawaii.
Then last week we received news on the future of project from Spain. Nature reported that the Spanish minister for science and innovation, Diana Morant, said on July 23rd that the country was prepared to invest €400 million (CAD $636M) if the project was moved to La Palma, in Spain’s Canary Islands.
The partners who form the TMT International Observatory group, which includes Canada, issued a statement on the same day saying that while no decision has been made TMT “has been engaging in discussions about the La Palma location as part of our contingency planning.”
Building the telescope in Hawaii has two significant issues. The first, a long standing issue, is opposition coming from some of the Native Hawaiian community. The second issue is the NSF pulling its funding. The project though might still move forward, albeit, based in the Canary Islands. More to come.
