Although the major aim of the project is that of site-testing, the resulting data will produce interesting science in its own right. It will be able to provide information on many aspects of the Earth's atmosphere, improving our ability for global climate modelling. It will also allow us to test a variety of technologies in an environment almost as demanding as that of space - at vastly reduced costs and risks. Most importantly, if our surmises about the improved information gathering potential are correct, we will be able to gain one of the best possible vantage points of the Universe at a fraction of the cost currently required to build very large or orbiting telescopes. The final aspect of this project is the development of a public outreach programme.
Antarctic astronomy has tremendous potential as an exciting new endeavour for our country.
It can attract some of the best engineers and scientists from around the world to Australia to participate and rise to the challenge. And it has the capacity to bring science to the public by capturing our sense of discovery of adventure, through bringing together two fields which each challenge the imagination, Antarctica and astronomy. We are developing an outreach programme at UNSW to foster these goals. Our programme is designed to communicate the results of our research, and bring back the thrill of discovery to a wider arena. For the future we hope to stage an exhibition at Sydney Observatory and the planned Antarctic visitor centre in Hobart.