WFMOS Status Report Doug Simons Gemini Observatory January 2008

Presentation Topics  WFMOS in Gemini’s Aspen Instrument Program Context  WFMOS Conceptual Design Study Status  What has happened since my presentation at the Subaru User’s Meeting a year ago  Future Key Steps  UK Withdrawal Impact  Subaru/Gemini WFMOS Science Conference

Aspen Instrument Program Ground Layer Adaptive Optics Precision Radial Velocity Spectrometer Gemini Planet Imager Wide Field Multi- Object Spectrometer

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

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

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

Precision Radial Velocity Spectrometer  Conceptual design studies completed and contract negotiated with ATC led team  Contract submitted for Board approval in Nov 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

Aspen Program Development Sequence GPI GLAO WFMOS PRVS HRNIRS Studies PDR CDR Mauna Kea Site Tests CoDR? CoDR Feasibility Study CoDR PDRCDR? Feasibility Study Jan 2008 CoDRPDR? Perf. Modeling

Some WFMOS Q&A…

What has happened to the WFMOS design studies since the last Subaru User’s 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.

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

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

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.

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 Gemini’s instrument program  The willingness of the Gemini Board to unilaterally fund these studies, at Gemini’s risk, reflects the interest level at Gemini in WFMOS

What is the impact of the UK’s 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.

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.”

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

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…

Subaru/Gemini WFMOS Science Conference  To be held at the Waikoloa Marriott on the Big Island  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

I Look Forward to Your Questions…