China's big dish will gather data, listen for alien life

China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, known as FAST, may provide understanding of the origin and structure of the universe, and accelerate and even revolutionize the search for life beyond Earth, a renowned US theorist on alien intelligence said on Saturday.

Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, an organization that promotes sending messages into space in search for extraterrestrial intelligence, said that astronomers worldwide will be invited to use the Chinese observatory if their proposals successfully pass competitive reviews.

"By opening FAST to use by the broader international community, China is demonstrating its commitment to fostering astronomy as a global scientific enterprise," he said, adding that it may lead to "discoveries beyond our wildest imagination".