US ELT Program: TMT Design and Development

在本世纪30年代，天文学的一个新纪元将随着口径在25到40米范围内的超大型望远镜(ELT)的投入使用而开始。这些设施将是回答最近美国国家科学院天文学和天体物理学十年调查“Astro2020”中提出的许多基本问题的关键，该调查将美国参与未来的ELT确定为其地面天文学的首要任务。其中一个设施是30米望远镜，将由TMT国际天文台建造，首选地点在夏威夷。TMT将具有空间分辨率(比哈勃太空望远镜高12倍，比JWST高4.6倍)和灵敏度(带有自适应光学，比8米望远镜灵敏约200倍)来探测和描述最遥远和最早的星系，研究跨宇宙时间的恒星系统的形成，并描述系外行星--最引人注目的是它们可能揭示生命迹象的大气。TMT将解决一些人类关于宇宙本身和我们在其中的位置的最大问题。开发和降低风险的活动将集中在四个关键领域：1)TIO将完成M2初步设计，包括优化的被动机械支撑、M2定位器工作台与电子和控制系统的设计、有限元分析性能模型和初步设计审查文件；2)TIO将完成对准和相位系统的初步设计，包括性能分析、样机、系统工程和软件开发；3)TIO将完成主镜控制系统部件的初步设计和样机，即分段控制器和布线电子、软件和执行器；4)TIO将完成三级镜系统的初步设计，这是决定所提供图像质量的关键光学元件之一。作为这项提议的一部分而开发的一些关键技术将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，直接使美国天文学社区受益。具体地说，主镜控制系统技术的进步将直接有利于未来任何使用分段镜的努力，而与次镜系统相关的工作将进一步推动大型凸次镜控制系统的发展。同样，第三镜系统的工作将开发有利于未来任何大型望远镜项目的技术，并确保美国在该领域的领先地位。该项目将记录和发布他们的工作成果，促进他们的劳动力和合作伙伴的多样性，并让职业生涯早期的同事接触新技术，这是开发下一代望远镜和仪器制造商的关键努力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，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。

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.