SkyMapper Launches Avalanche L1 to Bring Verifiable Telescope Data Onchain; SETI Institute Joins as Partner

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — April 14, 2026 —  SkyMapper today announced the launch of SkyMapper L1, a dedicated network built on Avalanche that captures telescope observations with cryptographic verification. The SETI Institute, which is leading the quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe, is contributing live observational data, marking one of the first production-scale integrations of major scientific research into a decentralized verification network.

SkyMapper’s global telescope network validates observations in real-time. Each observation is cryptographically signed at the source, time-stamped, and anchored on Avalanche through Akave’s dedicated L1, which provides decentralized, encrypted storage. This creates a system SkyMapper calls “Proof of Space Observation,” or POSO, a tamper-proof record suitable for scientific, commercial, and defense use.

“The sky is becoming a dynamic, crowded, and constantly changing environment. Satellites, drones, and deep-space missions are generating more data than traditional systems can handle or verify. SkyMapper introduces a new approach where  every observation is validated at its origin and anchored onchain. “ Franck Marchis, CEO and co-founder of SkyMapper and Director of Citizen Science at the SETI Institute, “With SETI Institute joining the network, we are moving toward a world where scientific data is globally accessible, fully traceable, and fundamentally trustworthy.”

The network is live across six continents with around 50 active participants, 62 SkyBridge units deployed, 225 ready to ship and 300 more in production. SkyMapper aims to connect 1,000 telescopes by the end of 2026, including upcoming SkyMapper-affiliated observing nodes in Nepal and Puerto Rico streaming data directly into the L1 network. The SETI institute’s participation strengthens the network with high-quality scientific input and demonstrates the system’s ability to integrate major research programs.

"For 21 years, UC Berkeley’s SETI@home project demonstrated the power of citizen science through distributed computing and provided users the notion of contributing to the search for extraterrestrial life,” said Bill Diamond, SETI Institute CEO. “On April 9th, the SETI Institute is joining forces with SkyMapper and Ava Labs for an unprecedented project connecting thousands of telescopes and users from around the world demonstrating not just distributed computing, but distributed science! We are thrilled to be part of such a bold and unprecedented project providing verifiable and reproducible data and demonstrating the power of distributed networks for the future of astronomy.”

SkyMapper selected Avalanche for its high-performance L1 architecture, supporting both permissioned environments for sensitive intelligence data and public deployments for open scientific research. Smart contracts manage validation, indexing, and access, enabling automated workflows, new models for data sharing, and commercial applications.

“At Ava Labs, we’re building high-performance blockchain infrastructure for real-world impact,” said Emin Gün Sirer, Founder and CEO of Ava Labs. “SkyMapper’s work anchoring observatory data on Avalanche shows how this technology can transform science, providing tamper-proof, verifiable telescope records. Proud to see our platform enabling innovation that advances research, industry, and government, and excited for its impact on astronomy and beyond.”

SkyMapper provides reproducible datasets for scientific institutions, auditable products for commercial users, and enhanced space situational awareness for public-sector and defense organizations.

SkyMapper Platform is now officially released and can be used here.

About Avalanche
Avalanche is a high-performance blockchain platform built for business. It provides fast, reliable, and scalable infrastructure that helps companies turn ideas into real-world products and generate measurable impact. Its flexible architecture supports fully customizable L1 blockchains, enabling institutions and enterprise companies to tailor networks to their needs while maintaining interoperability and security. 

About SkyMapper
SkyMapper is pioneering the world's first decentralized, blockchain-verified global telescope and all-sky camera network. Operating as a DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure network), SkyMapper ensures that observations are provable, tamper-resistant, and widely accessible by leveraging  AI, decentralized WEB3 storage, and blockchain technology, SkyMapper’s integrated community of telescopes is building a secure, efficient, and verifiably reliable data warehouse dedicated to serving the needs of science, safety, and the public good.

About The SETI Institute
Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world. Our research encompasses the physical and biological sciences and leverages expertise in data analytics, machine learning and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia and government agencies, including NASA and NSF.

This article was originally published by SkyMapper.