FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope), the world's largest radio telescope in Pingtang county of Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo by Yang Qingliang/chinadaily.com.cn]

BEIJING - A new laboratory focusing on China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has opened, according to Science and Technology Daily.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences laboratory promotes research and technological development of radio astronomy based on the FAST.

The lab will also promote international cooperation on Square Kilometer Array (SKA), an international effort to build the world's largest radio telescope using arrays.

FAST, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, will be equipped with a new receiver in June, allowing it to expand observation targets and generate more astronomical data.