Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will not be rebuilt

The National Science Foundation said Friday that it won't rebuild the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and instead pans to build a STEM-focused education center.

The center would expand upon existing education and outreach opportunities, and is expected to open in 2023, the NSF said in a statement.

The NSF is soliciting proposals to manage "the education, STEM research, and outreach aspects of the center."

The observatory once was home to the world's most powerful radio telescope, but it collapsed in December 2020.

The 59-year-old facility had hosted Nobel Prize-winning scientists and blockbuster Hollywood movies alike over the years.

Its futuristic-looking suspension bridge and large Gregorian dome were once featured in movies like Contact in 1997 starring Jodie Foster and the 1995 James Bond film Golden Eye.

The National Science Foundation owns the facility, which is currently managed by the University of Central Florida and a consortium of organizations and businesses on the island.

The observatory is about 60 miles west of the capital, San Juan, in the mountainous interior of Puerto Rico. It was damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017 and rattled by earthquakes in early 2020.

An investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing. In March, the visitor center reopened.

Arecibo has been home to other active astronomical instruments, such as a 12-meter telescope and a LIDAR facility, which can study the atmosphere by bouncing laser beams off particles about 20 to 100 miles above the Earth.

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