NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)

NSF的国家光学-红外天文研究实验室(NSF的NOIRLab)是美国国家地面夜间光学天文学中心。NOIRLab包括国际双子座天文台、基特峰国家天文台、Cerro Tololo美洲天文台、Vera C.Rubin天文台以及社区科学和数据中心(CSDC)。该奖项支持这些设施的管理、运营和维护，为期五年，即2023-2027年。该奖项支持启动鲁宾天文台的准备工作，以及鲁宾为期十年的空间和时间遗产调查(LSST)的头三年。双子座由NSF与其在加拿大、巴西、阿根廷、大韩民国和智利的国际合作伙伴合作运营。鲁宾是与能源部联合运营的。NOIRLab还将继续并进一步发展一项雄心勃勃的沟通、教育和外联活动计划。NOIRLab通过其设施、技术和人员传播天文学的奇迹。NOIRLab通过在夏威夷、智利和亚利桑那州的一系列面对面活动与当地公众接触，并通过在线出版物、教育资源和公民科学项目在国家乃至国际一级与公众接触。通过其望远镜、仪器和软件服务，NOIRLab每年支持400多个研究生论文项目和550名非论文研究生。NOIRLab的设施每年为700多篇科学论文产生数据。NOIRLab的愿景是成为现代地面光学-红外(OIR)天文学研究的卓越实验室，在整个研究生命周期中支持分布在所有50个州的多样化的科学家社区。NSF的目标是在NOIRLab中创建一个将在数据密集型天文学领域引领世界的国家资源，推动在时间域天文学和多信使天体物理学领域的新前沿的探索，最大化鲁宾天文台的科学回报，并为所有美国科学家提供一个基础，以便在本世纪30年代及以后充分利用潜在的未来极大望远镜。对于科学界，NOIRLab提供了大型(8米镜面直径)和中型或“中型”(约4米直径)OIR望远镜的最先进仪器，以便能够在天文学的所有领域进行研究。NOIRLab还为发展与大学、其他NSF资助的研究学科、其他资助机构和国际社会的研究和教育伙伴关系提供了国家重点。在接下来的五年里，NOIRLab将继续运营和开发智利的4米Blanco和南部天体物理研究(SOAR)望远镜，以及夏威夷和智利的双子座8米望远镜。NOIRLab将支持Rubin的预操作，从而在2024年投产，并在不久之后推出LSST。鲁宾无疑将通过其对南方天空的广泛调查以及每晚发布数百万个时间域警报来彻底改变现代天文学。鲁宾与NOIRLab的其他望远镜以及CSDC的软件和档案支持协同工作，将对最近国家科学院天文学、工程和医学十年调查中确定的所有优先科学领域产生重大影响，这些科学领域最近在天文学和天体物理方面的十年调查，天文学和天体物理学的发现之路(Astro2020)。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NSF’s NOIRLab) is the U.S. national center for ground-based nighttime optical astronomy. NOIRLab includes the International Gemini Observatory, the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, operations of Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC). This award supports management, operations and maintenance of these facilities for five years, 2023-2027. The award supports preparations for the launch of Rubin Observatory and the first three years of Rubin’s ten-year Legacy Survey in Space and Time (LSST). Gemini is operated by NSF in collaboration with its international partners in Canada, Brazil, Argentina, the Republic of Korea, and Chile. Rubin is operated jointly with the Department of Energy. NOIRLab will also continue and further develop an ambitious program of communication, education, and outreach activities. NOIRLab communicates the wonders of astronomy through its facilities, technology and people. NOIRLab engages with the public locally through a range of face-to-face activities in Hawai’i, Chile and Arizona, and on a national and indeed international level through on-line publications, educational resources, and citizen-science projects. Through its telescopes, instruments and software services, NOIRLab supports over 400 graduate thesis projects and of order 550 non-thesis graduate students each year. On a yearly basis, NOIRLab facilities generate data for more than 700 scientific papers.NOIRLab's vision is to be the preeminent laboratory for research in modern ground-based optical-infrared (OIR) astronomy, supporting a diverse community of scientists spread across all 50 states through the entire research life cycle. NSF’s goal is to create in NOIRLab a national resource that will lead the world in data-intensive astronomy, drive exploration of the new frontiers in time-domain astronomy and multi-messenger astrophysics, maximize science return from Rubin Observatory, and provide a foundation for all U.S. scientists to make full use of potential future Extremely Large Telescopes in the 2030s and beyond. For the science community NOIRLab provides access to state-of-the-art instrumentation on large (8-meter mirror diameter) and medium-sized or “mid-scale” (approximately 4-meter diameter) OIR telescopes to enable research in all areas of astronomy. NOIRLab also provides a national focus for the development of research and educational partnerships with universities, other NSF-funded research disciplines, other funding agencies, and international communities. Over the next five years NOIRLab will continue to operate and develop the 4-meter Blanco and SOuthern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescopes in Chile and the twin 8-meter Gemini telescopes in Hawai’i and Chile. NOIRLab will support pre-operations of Rubin leading to commissioning in 2024 and the launch of LSST shortly thereafter. Rubin will undoubtedly revolutionize modern astronomy through its extensive survey of the southern skies but also by releasing millions of time domain alerts every night. Rubin, working in concert with the other NOIRLab telescopes and with software and archival support from CSDC, will have a significant impact on all of the priority science areas identified in the recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine decadal survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy & Astrophysics for the 2020s (Astro2020).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.