Giant Magellan Telescope Project Status and Relationship with the NSF

1. Giant Magellan TelescopeProject Status and Relationship with the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee February 8, 2007 Patrick McCarthy - Carnegie Observatories

2. Project Overview The GMT is a 24m telescope built on the heritage of the Magellan and MMT 6.5m telescopes. The primary mirror is composed of seven 8.4m diameter borosilicate segments. Resolving power: 24.5m equivalent Collecting area: 22.0m equivalent Configuration: f/8 aplanatic Gregorian Baseline Site: Las Campanas, Chile www.gmto.org AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

3. Project Overview The GMT Partnership Carnegie Institution of Washington Australian National University Harvard University MIT Smithsonian Institution Texas A&M University U. of Arizona U. of Michigan U. of Texas at Austin AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

4. Governance and Standing Committees Governance: GMT Board Members from each partner institution plus AURA technical manager and observers from NOAO, AURA and NSF Scientific direction: Science Working Group/Scientific Advisory Committee Members from partner institutions plus community representative TBD Technical guidance: Project Scientists Working Group Member from each partner, consulting engineers Additional working groups in: Adaptive Optics, Instrumentation, Site Testing, etc. AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

5. Recent & Upcoming Milestones MOU between original partners July 2003 Texas & Texas A&M join project August 2004 First Primary Mirror Segment Cast July 2005 Conceptual Design Review February 2006 Australian National University joins project May 2006 Instrumentation review I - survey spectrographs October 2006 Instrumentation review II - AO and AO instruments December 2006 Instrumentation review III - high dispersion spectrographs March 2007 Selection of First-Generation Instruments Summer 2007 AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

6. Generating GMT1 on the LOG GMT1 Completion: 2008 AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

7. Site Layout on Campanas Peak Enclosure Control Building (Below) Equipment Building Prevailing winds Facility Building Auxiliary Building AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

8. Discovery Space 3 mAB Seeing Limited Young Stars - 2 20 Adaptive Optics - Young Exoplanets 1 22 Stellar Astroph. 5 1hr Sensitivity (Jy) IGM 1 < Z < 5 Galaxies 0 24 Dk Energy Black Holes Dk Energy 26 -1 First light 28 Old Exoplanets -2 30 -3 0.3 0.5 1.0 2.0 3.0 5.0 10 20 Wavelength (m) AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

9. Instruments GMTIFS on the upper platform NIRMOS & GMACS GMTNIRS GMACS Optical Layout AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

10. Relations with NSF and AURA • Broad Goals • Maximize private support for ground-based astronomy • Develop public-private partnership concept more fully at all levels • Craft public policy to encourage widely based private participation • Prime the pump with technology development funding • Integrate US user community into ELT design and operations • Expand community participation in SACs & other committees • Integrate more closely with GSMT SWG (Kudritzki committee) • Work with NSF/NOAO to improve outreach and GSMT support in community AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

11. Relations with NSF and AURA • Realities • MRE funding for construction unlikely before ~2013 • Private construction capital contingent on successful design/development phase • Operation costs are a serious concern for private & state institutions and private donors • Significant up-front NSF support along with a model for participation • after ~2012 is critical to moving the project forward AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

12. Relations with NSF and AURA • Near-Term Goals • Enhance support for technology development through the GMST program • Increase the annual flow of support to GMT & TMT • Lengthen the duration of the program to reflect the expected delayed onset of federal support for construction • Explore alternative models for federal support of ELTs • Weigh the benefits of commitments to operations vs. construction • Better define the role of the National Observatory in the process AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

13. Relations with NSF and AURA • Longer-Term Goals • Develop a model for operations in the ELT era • Better understand scientific drivers for various operating modes • Understand the interaction between public/privates and the NVO • Develop a role for the National Observatory in operations & archiving AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

14. Relations with NSF and AURA • Ways to move forward • Continue & expand development funding under AURA management • support design efforts for both projects • prototype critical subsystems • identify critical technology with common applications • Work with NSF and AURA to develop operation plans • explore models of private/public partnership for operations • work with NOAO to develop operations model and costs • understand how GSMT(s) will work within “The System” • Develop a long-range plan to creatively support both programs • avoid unnecessary “down-select” • leverage private support to enhance “The System” • explore construction support outside of MRE • work with international partners to explore other governmental support AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

15. Relations with NSF and AURA • GMT View • The GMT partners desire a closer relationship with the NSF. • We are happy to work with NSF and AURA to understand how • this should be structured. • Enhanced federal support for the design effort will speed the project, enable further private support and engage the broader community. • We welcome more participation from the broader community through our scientific committees and other outreach activities. • GMT is now an international project and may become more so. • This may open new avenues for support of construction and operations AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC

16. AAAC Meeting, February 8 2007, Washington, DC