The UK government has revealed plans to invest £290m into major science projects that range from space exploration to neutron microscopes, including a European space mission.
As part of the government’s long term economic plan, about £165m will be used on a project to build a powerful neutron microscope, which would be 30 times more powerful than existing ones and able to monitor the world and the universe.
About £100m will go towards ongoing construction and management of the Square Kilometre Array satellite sites, upon completion it would generate huge amounts of data, equal to 10 times the global internet traffic.
The UK minister for universities and science David Willetts said that investment in science is a crucial part of government’s long-term economic plan.
"It’s about investing in our future, helping grow new industries and create more jobs – and that will mean more financial security for people across the country," Willetts said.
British scientists are already working on the central computer that would collect and analyse the massive new data, signifying the knock-on research could make possible faster smartphones and augmented internet speeds across the UK.
Lastly, £25m will be invested in the European M3 Space Mission, involving a giant telescope, which is a giant telescope comprising 34 telescopes.
Royal Society president Paul Nurse said that the international collaboration is central to scientific progress and is essential if we are to deliver projects on the scale of the Square Kilometre Array, the European Spallation Source and the M3 Space Mission.
"Many scientific projects can only be pursued through such large scale collaboration and it is great that the government has decided that the UK will play its full part," Nurse said.
"Investment in these projects is also an investment in British innovation and in the creation of sustainable economic growth built on our world leading science."
The latest funding comes following a £270m investment announced by the government December 2013 for a raft of areas including quantum computing and driverless cars.
