It’s been a quiet period for the historically high-energy debate over the future of Mauna Kea, especially the long-delayed bid to build the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) at the summit. But quiet does not mean inactive: There seems to be a change in approach by the project leaders, who have faced off with opponents, largely from the Native Hawaiian community, for years.

In an interview published this week, Fengchuan Liu, the TMT project manager, said the observatory team has turned its attention toward developing what he sees as the project’s missing component: relationships with Hawaii island residents, a key stakeholder group.

The effort is worthwhile, even knowing that overcoming the barriers to moving the telescope forward will be a monumental task. Many in the Hawaii island community in particular are doubtful about its prospects, even dug in with their opposition. Mauna Kea is seen as a culturally precious place, sacred to many.

Also watching carefully are the other arbiters of the telescope’s success — those funding it. Some scientists eager to see the state-of-the-art installation deployed believe that only one of the top competing projects, TMT and the Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile, will end up with the funds it needs from the National Science Foundation.

Without a doubt, Mauna Kea is seen as the superior site for the clarity its elevation and geographic location will afford the scientific imagery, produced by its 30-meter mirror comprising 492 segments.

The question is, how long are the foundations willing to wait to get a terrestrial telescope built? Building the community trust is a long-term effort. The creation of the state’s Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority is part of that broader process, but the body is still in its early, organizational phases.

So the TMT leadership making its own outreach is crucial. The goal, which at this point is a hope, is that a path can be found toward acceptance of the telescope, which could be a historic benefit to Hawaii and to scientific knowledge globally.

TMT outreach work has included the ‘Ale Lau Loa program, launched last year. It is a cultural exchange program TMT organizes, linking Hawaiian students and TMT’s partners. In 2023, six students visited Okinawa.

But perhaps even more important to this relationship building are programs that help with everyday needs. These include the tutoring services for students who are still struggling to overcome the learning loss of the pandemic-era remote education experience. TMT officials report that three-fourths of those enrolled when they were failing their classes are now passing, or better.

Under the management of the University of Hawaii, at the astronomy campus on the summit, there have been years when stewardship of natural resources was rightly cited as poor. However, the resolve to correct this is now longstanding, and UH is meeting its commitments under its Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan.

Specifically, UH is scheduled to complete the decommissioning of the UH-Hilo’s Hoku Ke‘a Observatory by this fall; it’s the second of the existing telescopes at the summit to come down as a requirement of the plan, which includes restoration of the sites.

Completing this work is a good-faith effort; it should help demonstrate the possibility for scientific pursuits and respect for the environment to coexist.

Terrestrial observatories such as TMT offer some advantages over space-based telescopes, especially in analyzing visible frequencies, and add immeasurably to humanity’s capacity for exploration. It would be wonderful for Hawaii to embrace such an advance.