[ASA] Giant Magellan Telescope welcomes MIT as its newest partner

[Chris Tinney]

Dear Fellow ASA members

As Australian members of the Board of the Giant Magellan Telescope, we are pleased to share with you the news that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has joined GMT's international consortium in the construction of a US$2.6 billion observatory in Chile.

The GMTO press release and further details can be found at: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/RHT4Ck81N9tXkY771S2fVuGNGiJ?domain=giantmagellan.org

This is another significant achievement for the GMT project. It brings the total private investment from GMT’s (now) 16 partners to over US$1billion. MIT’s support comes at a pivotal time for the observatory. Earlier this year, the US National Science Foundation advanced GMT into its Final Design Phase, one of the final steps before it becomes eligible for US federal construction funding. To demonstrate readiness and a strong commitment to U.S. leadership, the consortium offered to privately fund this phase (traditionally supported by the NSF). MIT’s investment will allow the project to achieve that aim, and is a major milestone on the path to completing one of the most advanced optical telescopes ever built. One that will continue Australia’s position at the forefront of international astronomy.

What this Means for Australia

This is good news for Australia. It further advances the GMT to towards completion. And further protects Australia’s early investment (by the Australian Government and the ANU) in a telescope with wide-field spectroscopic capabilities, combined with ultra-clean extreme Adaptive Optics, that will powerfully complement the capabilities of ESO's ELT.

It allows Australia’s ecosystem of astronomy instrumentation to continue to grow in support of a range of observatories globally. Multiple Australian teams are leading critical elements of the GMT project, including: its laser tomography adaptive optics (LTAO) subsystem; the Giant Magellan Telescope Integral Field Spectrograph (GMTIFS - which will leverage the GMT’s adaptive optics capabilities and be the telescope’s facility infrared imager); and the MANIFEST multi-fibre-positioning system. This additional MIT funding will support the movement of these projects towards their Final Design phases over the next few years and to the realisation of Australia’s investment.


Regards

Chris Tinney, Sarah Pearce, Brian Schmidt.

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