The European Solar Telescope (EST), planned for the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, has been granted Landmark status by ESFRI, Europe’s strategy forum for research infrastructures, at its 97th meeting in Cork on 23–24 September; the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) announced it on 5 October. The label puts EST, on the ESFRI roadmap since 2016, in the same league as CTAO, the ELT and SKAO. Spain leads the project, coordinated by the IAC with the participation of the CSIC, and the investment is estimated at €274 million. Once built, EST should create about 65 direct jobs and spend some €8.1 million a year in the Canary Islands, with science operations lasting at least 30 years. Our take: Landmark status is a political seal, not money; the real milestone will be the national contributions that allow construction to start.
€274Mestimated investment
30+years of science operations