After the ambitious plan for the Einstein Telescope, on which theECL – Leonardo Consortium for Engineering and Architecture, the Sos Enattos mine could be a suitable place to host another major project called Earth Telescope, which aims to study the Earth’s core. The site is located in northeastern Sardinia, in the area of the disused mine between the municipalities of Bitti, Lula and Onanì, and is considered by experts to be the “best site in Europe and one of the best in the world because of the low seismic and environmental noise and the nature of the rock. “The challenges to be faced in building the Einstein Telescope range from precision mechanics, to metallurgy, continuing with seismic sensing, optics, quantum technologies and “managing massive amounts of data with artificial intelligence.”
The project involves the construction of a large underground infrastructure for the gravitational interferometer and surface management facilities, with the aim of creating the world’s largest gravitational wave detector. A project with immense possibilities that could now find a new solid ally to corroborate Sardinia as an ideal site for its construction. Thanks to the new project, in fact, the Italian bid to host the Einstein Telescope would certainly become stronger, in the race that sees our country competing with the Netherlands. Italy is currently competing with the site present in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine region, although it has already been awarded the contract to implement the technical and economic pre-feasibility study, which includes precisely the Leonardo Consortium.The idea of a new synergy between the same public research organizations involved in the Einstein Telescope, with the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari, was presented yesterday in Rome at a conference organized by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and attended by representatives of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and the National Institute of Astrophysics. “The government is putting a lot of diplomatic effort into bringing the Einstein Telescope to Sardinia,” said Roberto Cimino of the Ministry of University and Research, recalling the economic commitment that is supporting the project.
If proceeded in this direction, the Sos Enattos mine would become a place of dialogue for research also open to the territory, with popularization initiatives, as well as a pioneering hub in search of the mysteries still unknown to human beings. All that remains is to hold our breath and support the new Italian horizons.
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