Update on the Large Science Program Opportunity at the Mayall 4-m

As described in the November 2009 issue of Currents, NOAO has announced an opportunity for groups in the community to partner with NOAO and the National Science Foundation in developing a major new capability (an instrument and associated data processing system) for the Mayall 4-m telescope that the proposing team will use in carrying out a large science program of very high scientific impact. The dual goals of the large science program are to enable frontier science and to improve the US system of ground-based O/IR facilities.

The announcement of opportunity for the Mayall Large Science Program requested letters of intent outlining the instrument concept, partnership, and proposed science project. These letters, the first required element of the proposal process, were due to the Kitt Peak Director on 1 March 2010. In response to the announcement, the Kitt Peak Director’s office received multiple inquiries and one official letter of intent to propose. NOAO responded to the letter with a request for a full proposal.

The full proposal, which is due on 1 October 2010, will be evaluated by a non-advocate peer review committee charged with advising the NOAO Director regarding the quality of the proposed capability and the proposed science project within the context of the System of capabilities available to the US community and the high impact science to be carried out in the next decade.

If the proposal is successful, NOAO will make available to the proposing team, in exchange for providing a new, front-line capability for the Mayall, dedicated telescope time on the Mayall for the proposed large science program. The capability provided by the team must also enable frontier science to be carried out by the community, beyond the specific science program of the proposing team. A proposal will only be selected if it meets these requirements. In the event that no proposal meets these requirements, none will be selected.

Should the proposal be successful, the NOAO community will have direct access, via the NOAO open-access process, to the new observing capability while the proposed large science program is being carried out. The instrument will also be available for open-access use for a significant amount of time (years) after the proposed large science program is completed. The community will also have access to the archive of data produced by the large science program. We will provide updates on this Large Science Program opportunity in future issues of Currents.