Overview
- The CART installation at El Leoncito was halted after the cooperation agreement expired in June and was not renewed.
- Argentine customs is holding several containers of Chinese equipment, citing documentation irregularities.
- The planned observatory featured a 40‑meter antenna and an estimated investment of about $350 million with participation from CONICET, UNSJ, China’s CAS and NAOC.
- The University of San Juan and scientific bodies publicly objected, arguing the project was a strictly scientific collaboration built over three decades.
- China’s existing deep‑space facility in Neuquén remains active and under scrutiny following inspections and repeated U.S. security warnings.