US ELT Program: TMT Design and Development

美国ELT项目：TMT设计与开发

• 批准号: 2331108
• 负责人: Robert Kirshner
• 金额: $ 650万
• 依托单位: TMT INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATORY LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2331108&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: US; ELT; Program; TMT; Design

In the 2030s a new era in astronomy will begin with the commissioning of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) with apertures in the 25 to 40-meter range. These facilities will be key to answering many of the fundamental questions raised in the recent National Academies decadal survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics, “Astro2020”, which identified U.S. involvement in future ELTs as its top priority for ground-based astronomy. One of these facilities will be the Thirty Meter Telescope, to be built by TMT International Observatory (TIO) and with a preferred site in Hawai’i. TMT will have the spatial resolution (12 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope and 4.6 times the JWST) and sensitivity (with adaptive optics, ~200 times more sensitive than 8-m telescopes) to probe and characterize the most distant and earliest galaxies, to study the formation of stellar systems across cosmic time, and to characterize exoplanets — most notably their atmospheres that may reveal possible signatures of life. TMT will address some of humanity’s biggest questions about the universe itself and our place within it. Development and risk reduction activities will be concentrated in four key areas: 1) TIO will complete M2 preliminary design, including optimized passive mechanical support, M2 positioner stage design with electronics and control system, finite-element analysis performance models and Preliminary Design review documentation; 2) TIO will complete preliminary design for the alignment and phasing system, including performance analysis, prototyping, systems engineering, and software development; 3) TIO will complete preliminary design and prototyping of components for the primary mirror control system, namely the segment controller and cabling electronics, software, and actuators; and 4) TIO will complete the preliminary design of the tertiary mirror system, one of the key optical elements that defines the quality of the delivered images. Some of the key technologies developed as part of this proposal will directly benefit the U.S. astronomical community by advancing the state of the art of critical components that will be required by the current and future generations of astronomical facilities. Specifically, advances in the primary mirror control system technology will directly benefit any future effort to use segmented mirrors, while the work related to the secondary mirror system will further the development of control systems for large convex secondary mirrors. Similarly, the tertiary mirror system work will develop technologies that will benefit any future large telescope project and ensure U.S. leadership in the field. The project will document and publish the results of their work, promote diversity in their workforce and partners, and expose early career colleagues to new technology, a key effort in developing the next generation of telescope and instrument builders.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

2030 年代，随着孔径在 25 至 40 米范围内的超大望远镜 (ELT) 的调试，天文学的新时代将开始。这些设施将是回答最近国家科学院十年提出的许多基本问题的关键。天文学和天体物理学调查“Astro2020”，该调查将美国参与未来 ELT 视为其地面基地建设的首要任务其中一个设施是 30 米望远镜，由 TMT 国际天文台 (TIO) 建造，首选地点位于夏威夷，其空间分辨率是哈勃太空望远镜的 12 倍和 4.6 倍。倍 JWST）和灵敏度（采用自适应光学器件，比 8 米望远镜灵敏约 200 倍），用于探测和表征最远和最早的星系，以研究恒星的形成跨宇宙时间的系统，并描述系外行星的特征——最显着的是它们的大气层，可能揭示生命的可能特征，TMT将解决人类关于宇宙本身和我们在宇宙中的地位的一些最大问题，开发和降低风险的活动将集中在四个方面。关键领域：1）TIO将完成M2初步设计，包括优化的被动机械支撑、带有电子和控制系统的M2定位器阶段设计、有限元分析性能模型和初步设计审查文件；2）TIO将完成初步设计审查文件；对准和定相系统的设计，包括性能分析、原型设计、系统工程和软件开发；3) TIO 将完成主镜控制系统组件的初步设计和原型设计，即分段控制器和布线电子设备、软件和4) TIO 将完成三镜系统的初步设计，该系统是决定所传输图像质量的关键光学元件之一，作为该提案的一部分开发的一些关键技术将直接受益。美国天文学界通过提高当前和未来几代天文设施所需的关键部件的技术水平，具体而言，主镜控制系统技术的进步将直接有利于未来使用分段镜的努力。与次镜系统相关的工作将进一步开发大型凸面次镜控制系统，同样，三镜系统工作将开发有利于任何未来大型望远镜项目的技术，并确保美国在该领域的领先地位。项目将记录和发布他们的工作成果，促进员工和合作伙伴的多样性，并使早期职业同事接触新技术，这是开发反映下一代望远镜和仪器制造商的关键努力。该奖项奖励 NSF 的法定使命和通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，该项目被认为值得支持。