On August 21 of 2015, Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt from Victoria University of  Wellington, who is also the Chairperson of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) Board, and Dr. Luke Pratley and Dr. Qian Zheng visited Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO), and had a conversation with Director Xiaoyu Hong, the Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Xiangping Wu and other people from SHAO.

Director Hong extended a warm welcome to the visitors, and then made an introduction about SHAO in terms of historical background, current development, research accomplishment and etc. Director Hong mentioned the achievements and future development of radio astronomy in SHAO, in particular the remarkable achievements made from the application of VLBI techniques on the precise orbital determination of lunar satellite. Following Director Hong’s speech, Professor Tao An presented the preparation, objectives and expectations of the Science and Data Centre (SDC) of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) which is being considered in SHAO. After listening to the reports from SHAO, Professor Johnston-Hollitt expressed her appreciation for the warm reception, and also made a presentation on MWA upgrade and international cooperation. She introduced the science highlights during the two-year full operation of MWA, the development, planning, governance and cooperation opportunities in Phase II & III. Professor Johnston-Hollitt showed her strong interests in the undergoing work for the development of SKA SDC in SHAO, and she also shared views about New Zealand’s participating in SKA and also their plan for developing the Science and Data Centre. After the presentations, the Academician Wu led the discussion. Ideas were further exchanged about SHAO’s joining the MWA upgrade and the enhanced cooperation .