WFMOS Status Report

1
WFMOS Status Report

• Doug Simons
• Gemini Observatory
• January 2008

2
Presentation Topics

• WFMOS in Geminis Aspen Instrument Program
  Context
• WFMOS Conceptual Design Study Status
• What has happened since my presentation at the
  Subaru Users Meeting a year ago
• Future Key Steps
• UK Withdrawal Impact
• Subaru/Gemini WFMOS Science Conference

3
Aspen Instrument Program
Gemini Planet Imager
Precision Radial Velocity Spectrometer
Wide Field Multi- Object Spectrometer
Ground Layer Adaptive Optics
4
Gemini Planet Imager Remains On Track

• All GPI institutions are making excellent
  progress toward CDR this year
• Deployment planned for 2010 at Gemini-S
• UK withdrawal from Gemini has little/no effect on
  GPI as we made firm contractual commitments
  already to build GPI

5
WFMOS Status

• Wide Field MOS
• Conceptual design studies are about to begin -
  details later
• HSC
• CoDR scheduled for April 2008
• Important that results of HSC design trades get
  fed into WFMOS design studies

Wide Field Multi- Object Spectrometer

• Together HSC WFMOS will provide unique wide
  field imaging and spectroscopy capabilities that
  no other observatory will match on similar
  timescales

6
Ground Layer AO Status

• University of Hawaii under contract to gather
  Gemini-N site data using LOLAS and SLODAR
• Expect to complete data collection phase by mid
  2008
• Full analysis, including GLAO performance
  prediction will be completed by the end of 2008
  which will feed into a decision about building a
  GLAO system for Gemini-N

Ground Layer Adaptive Optics
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Precision Radial Velocity Spectrometer

• Conceptual design studies completed and contract
  negotiated with ATC led team
• Contract submitted for Board approval in Nov.
  2007 but UK announced intention to withdraw at
  that time
• Gemini Board did not approve the PRVS contract
  due to Aspen funding uncertainties, firm
  commitments already made to GPI, and the need to
  protect WFMOS

Precision Radial Velocity Spectrometer
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Aspen Program Development Sequence
Jan 2008
GPI
PDR
CDR
CoDR
Mauna Kea Site Tests
Feasibility Study
Perf. Modeling
GLAO
CoDR?
PDR?
HRNIRS Studies
PRVS
CoDR
PDR
CDR?
Feasibility Study
CoDR
PDR?
WFMOS
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
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Some WFMOS QA
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What has happened to the WFMOS design studies
since the last Subaru Users Meeting?

• Lots, but the main progress is that 2 teams have
  submitted proposals to prepare conceptual design
  studies for WFMOS. These two teams have just been
  placed under contract to complete these studies
  and Gemini will fund them for a cost of
  3,500,000.

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Who will be working on the WFMOS design studies?

• Two teams will work on separate competitive
  studies
• One is led by the Jet Propulsion Lab in
  California, the other by the Anglo Australian
  Observatory
• These teams include other institutions in the US,
  UK, and Brazil
• The studies yield competitive bids to build
  WFMOS, likely at the major subassembly level
• Studies will require close technical exchange
  with HSC team to ensure compatibility with WFC
  and telescope
• Would like to explore in 2008 involvement of
  Japanese institutions to potential build WFMOS
  components in the future

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Why did Gemini sponsor these design studies?

• These studies are intended to -
• Provide much better estimates of the cost and
  time needed to build WFMOS than we have now
• Generate conceptual level approaches to the
  design of WFMOS and analyses of the science that
  is likely possible with WFMOS
• This basic information is required before Gemini
  or Subaru could decide to build WFMOS, an
  instrument of unprecedented scale

13
Has a commitment been made at Gemini or Subaru to
build WFMOS?

• No much needs to be done before such a
  commitment is possible, including
• Completing the WFMOS design studies to provide us
  all with much more information than we have had
  in the past
• Gemini and Subaru must reach an agreement about
  how we will share the cost, technical
  development, scientific use of the instrument,
  and exchange of telescope time as part of this
  program
• Funding needs to be secured at Gemini and Subaru
• Funding the HSC corrector and telescope
  modifications would represent significant Subaru
  contributions already.

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What is the priority for WFMOS compared to other
instruments being developed at Gemini?

• WFMOS has broad support within the Gemini
  partners and remains the highest priority element
  in Geminis instrument program
• The willingness of the Gemini Board to
  unilaterally fund these studies, at Geminis
  risk, reflects the interest level at Gemini in
  WFMOS

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What is the impact of the UKs recent withdrawal
from Gemini on WFMOS?

• Near term -
• Not much as the Board decided that we should
  proceed with the WFMOS studies as originally
  planned (which includes UK institutions) since
  that is in the best scientific interests of
  Gemini compared to starting over with new teams.
• Long term -
• The lack of UK Aspen contributions to help fund
  WFMOS could be an issue and this must be
  addressed as the remaining Gemini partners
  reformulate the partnership.

16
Is the Gemini Board still committed to WFMOS
given the UK withdrawal from Gemini?

• The Board resolves to maintain the continuity of
  operations and the enhanced scientific
  opportunities of the Gemini Observatory by the
  remaining Gemini Parties during this period of
  transition. Furthermore, the Board wishes to
  convey its continued goal of realizing our shared
  future science aspirations that are advanced
  through the Aspen program.

17
When will the WFMOS studies be done and what
happens after they are done?

• A conceptual design review will be held in early
  2009 to recommend how we proceed with WFMOS,
  based upon the results of the 2 studies
• Subaru and Gemini will be represented on the
  review committee
• The results of this review will be reported to
  Subaru and Gemini management
• By this time a draft Subaru/Gemini WFMOS
  agreement for the joint development and use of
  WFMOS needs to be in place as well so we have a
  complete understanding of all the
  challenges/issues
• With all of this information in place, I expect
  that a decision will be made in 2009 about
  building WFMOS, either in its entirety or
  incrementally

18
How can Subaru and Gemini develop a sense of
joint ownership, scientifically and technically,
for a major new instrument like WFMOS?

• Telescope time exchange -
• Our current time exchange program is the seed
  for our future time exchange program once WFMOS
  is deployed. It needs to be developed further to
  ensure the capabilities Gemini and Subaru offer
  through this program are meeting the needs of our
  respective communities
• Technology -
• Organizations in Japan that are interested in
  potentially building components of WFMOS need to
  be identified
• Science -
• The Subaru and Gemini science communities need to
  develop broader collaborations in support of
  future major joint Subaru/Gemini science
  campaigns with WFMOS as well as PI science.
  Speaking of which

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Subaru/Gemini WFMOS Science Conference

• To be held at the Waikoloa Marriott on the Big
  Island
• 19-21 May 2008
• Intended to bring together scientists from the
  WFMOS study teams as well as the Subaru and
  Gemini communities to explore science
  opportunities with WFMOS and foster future
  collaborations

Waikoloa Marriott
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I Look Forward to Your Questions