On Sunday, the Peoples Republic of China deployed the world’s largest radio telescope in a mountainous, sparsely populated region of Guizhou Province. The massive 1,640-foot diameter disc occupies a space equivalent to 450 basketball courts.

It reportedly achieves a collecting area of some 2.1 million square feet.

The topography of the surrounding countryside provides an ideal backdrop for the device. Twice the size of the next-largest single-dish radio telescope (Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory), the new facility required the relocation of some 9,000 residents from the remote region.

China’s President Xi Jinping issued a celebratory message to the nation, describing the new telescope as capable of helping China make “major” scientific advances.

The Chinese government claimed the project cost $184 million, although some foreign media sources have questioned that figure as probably too modest. The radio telescope evidently represents a significant investment in space research and exploration by the Chinese government.

It should provide a huge boost to the world’s SETI research capabilities.

The project will also assist China’s ongoing space program significantly.

China anticipates landing an unmanned vehicle on Mars in 2020 and hopes to place an astronaut on the moon by 2025. It plans to deploy additional radio telescopes in Tibet and will soon build a particle accelerator.

Astrophysicist Zhang Chengmin stated the development marked China’s arrival as a “scientific power” after years of lagging behind other nations. Australia reportedly assisted China in constructing the huge telescope’s receiver.

The facility anticipates permitting some international cooperation