The European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced the signing of four new contracts for the construction of components of the 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This includes the agreements on the secondary mirror and the tertiary mirror, structural elements supporting the mirror, as well as the production of several thousand sensors.

One of the contracts has been signed by SENER, which has a branch also in Poland. The agreement was signed by Spanish branch of the company, but its Polish branch will also take part in the construction of the telescope components.

Engineers from SENER Polska will be responsible for the design, production, assembly and testing of equipment for two mirror modules for the ELT. The components to be built in Poland include devices for mounting the mirror with a mechanism for positioning on the telescope structure, components used to transport the mirrors between Europe and South America and a special protection units to protect the mirrors against damage. The work is scheduled for a total of six years, up to four years in Poland.

"We are proud that Polish engineers are involved in the construction of such an important device for humanity, especially that it is the largest and most responsible task that has been performed so far by Polish entities - commented Dr. Aleksandra Bukała, CEO of SENER Polska. - We have been selected to participate in the project because of our previous experience in the design and production of precision components for space probes and Mars landers. We will cooperate with Polish partners in performing these tasks."

The ELT will be the largest optical/infrared telescope in the world, several times larger than the telescopes currently used by astronomers. It is being built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Observations are expected to start in 2024. The project budget exceeds one billion euros.

Poland is a member of the ESO since 2015, and thus Polish scientists and engineers, as well as Polish industry can participate in the construction of components of the ELT. Last year it was announced that astronomers and physicists from Nicolaus Copernicus University would take part in designing one of the advanced spectrographs, which will be mounted on the ELT.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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