As the U.S. backs away from key climate, aid, and scientific investments, Europe is stepping in to pick up the slack. 

Europe’s latest intervention? Saving a plan to build one of the world’s largest, cutting-edge telescopes. This week, the Spanish government offered to pay $470 million to take over one of the most ambitious astronomy projects in history, known as the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). In the deal, Spain would also provide the unconstructed mega-telescope a home atop a rugged peak on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa.

After massive proposed cuts to the National Science Foundation’s $9 billion budget, the project faced a financing shortfall that likely spelled its doom. Trump’s cuts, detailed in late May, slash the foundation’s budget by more than half, jettisoning funding for the TMT while keeping another $3 billion telescope project, the........

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