( Mashable ) -- There 's a massive telescope on the drawing board that has n't even started construction yet , but when it 's finished in 2024 , it 'll generate more data in a single day than the entire Internet . For scientists to ensure they 'll be able to handle all that raw information , they need to start working on new computing technologies now . Fortunately , IBM is on it . The computing giant is collaborating with ASTRON ( the Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy ) to develop the next-generation computer tech needed to handle the colossal amount of data captured by the Square Kilometer Array ( SKA ) , a new radio telescope that will spread sensing equipment over a span 3,000 kilometers wide , or about the width of the continental U.S.A. `` One of the goals is to search what happened at the time of the Big Bang , 13 billion years ago , '' IBM researcher Ronanld Luijten told Mashable . `` We need to figure out what technology needs to be chosen in order to build this large antenna . '' The project is called DOME , and it 's challenged to find a way to capture and process approximately one exabyte every day , which works out to about twice the amount of data that 's generated every day by the World Wide Web , IBM says . To do that in a way that does n't consume a massive amount of energy , IBM will need to develop some entirely new processing architectures before construction on the telescope begins in 2017 . `` We need to be very creative , '' says Luijten . `` If we were to use standard servers of today , we 'd need millions of them . They would use so much space and use so much energy that we could n't afford to build the machines let alone operate them . '' While the project has only just been announced , IBM already has some ideas in the hopper . Specifically , it 'll be looking at novel ways of stacking chips ( today 's chips are flat , though stacking or `` 3D '' tech is around the corner ) and using optical technology for interconnects , something the company has already had some success with . The promising new conductive material graphene , however , probably wo n't play a part . `` Graphene will not be available in time to build something we start in 2017 , '' says Luijten . `` But it might be available for a later generation . The expectation is that we will go with the traditional CMOS process . '' See also : IBM : Mind-reading machines will change our lives . Even though the new computing tech has n't even been invented yet , it 'll ironically still rely on one of the oldest storage technologies in existence : magnetic tape . Luijten says tape simply ca n't be matched by newer storage mediums since it 's so cost- , space- and power-efficient . The project wo n't exclusively use tape for storage , though , also relying on phase-change media and solid-state drives . `` We 're looking at new memory technologies , '' says Luijten , `` but at the end of the day most of the data likely will remain on tape because it 's still the most cost-effective storage medium . Tape will be around for a long time . '' The SKA is n't planned to be completed until 2024 , but the technologies that IBM creates to service it will have the potential to change entire industries in the meantime , dealing with big-data problems that the world is just now encountering . It 's possible the social networks and search engines of the future will be powered by IBM 's coming tech or something like it , enabling them to process an entire Internet 's worth of data for anyone and everyone . What problems would you like to see the supercomputers of tomorrow take on ? Share your ideas in the comments . See the original article on Mashable.com . © 2011 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
IBM is teaming up with ASTRON to develop what is needed to handle data sent by satellites . The new technology will still run on one of the oldest storage technologies : magnetic tape . The SKA ' n't be ready until 2020 , but the process has the potential to change industries .