Substantial progress has been made during the last six months on all the instruments and subsystems that are US efforts:
The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii is fabricating assemblies for the Gemini Near-IR Imager (NIRI) as well as sending out non-critical parts to commercial machine shops. Almost all optical components have been delivered, though a few did not meet the specifications and need to be reworked. A critical component, the gimbal mirror steering mechanism for the On-Instrument Wavefront Sensor, recently passed a cold test, so it appears that full integration with Gemini control systems will be possible during instrument commissioning, which is scheduled for spring 1999.
NOAO held an interim review of the Gemini Near-IR Spectrograph 30 April to close out items not covered at the November 1997 CDR. The design is essentially complete, and optical procurement drawings are being released to vendors for quotes. Durham University in the UK is designing an Integral Field Unit for integration when the instrument is assembled next year.
A contract has been signed with the University of Florida to supply the Gemini Mid-IR Imager. Charles Telesco is the PI on this 8-26 µm instrument. USGP personnel met with the team to tour their facility and to kick off the project. Delivery is scheduled for March 2001.
Santa Barbara Research Center has delivered six IR arrays, with two of them appearing to be of science quality based on preliminary cold tests. Four more hybridizations are in process; the remaining two attempts will be deferred until next year to take advantage of technology improvements.
The NIRI array controller is undergoing final system tests by Mike Merrill, Instrument Scientist and Andy Peters, the electrical engineer responsible for the controllers at NOAO. Preliminary results indicate that noise specifications will be met. The unit is expected to be delivered to the University of Hawaii this summer.
NOAO expects EEV to deliver the science grade CCD arrays this summer. As an aid to checking out the SDSU-2 controllers, Gemini will purchase two engineering grade arrays from EEV. Software development is on schedule. The first GMOS camera with fully integrated detectors and controllers is expected to be delivered to Canada this fall.
Announcements of Opportunity are being prepared for two instrumentation efforts in the Ongoing Instrument Program for the Gemini Telescopes. The first of these is for a Near-IR (0.8-5 µm) Imager/Coronagraph optimized for use with Adaptive Optics at the Gemini-South Telescope. The second AO is for development studies related to a Near-IR (1-2.5 µm) multi-object spectroscopic capability. The long-term plan calls for such spectroscopic capabilities for both wide and narrow field applications. Gemini is intending to fund a substantial amount of up-front development to reduce the risk in areas of technical uncertainty, such as how to construct a cryogenic multi-object focal plane. These two AOs will be released to the national Gemini Project Offices in the next couple of months. They will be distributed by the USGP to everyone in the US who has previously indicated their interest in participating in the Gemini instrumentation effort.
Todd Boroson, Mark Trueblood