A $1.4 billion multinational project to build a telescope atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea has long been stalled by residents who consider the mountain sacred. The project's future remains in flux as a new court hearing in Hawaii is expected later this year.

The Thirty Meter Telescope board recently decided that a site in the Canary Islands off Africa's northwestern coast will serve as a backup.

The TMT project team, including researchers from Canada, China, India, Japan and the United States, still considers Hawaii the primary site but plans to advance with a dual-track approach.