KMOS Contingency Payment

KMOS is an advanced imaging spectrograph being constructed by a consortium of UK and German institutes as one of
a suite of second generation instruments for the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (ESO VLT) in
Chile. KMOS uses a technique known as integral field spectroscopy to dissect the images of astronomical sources and
produce individual spectra for different regions within a single target. KMOS will operate in the near-infrared part of the
spectrum (1-2.5 microns wavelength) and will offer a multi-object capability to observe up to 24 sources simultaneously
within a 7 arcmin field of view, which will be unique at these wavelengths. The primary science drivers for KMOS are to
observe the evolution and mass assembly of distant galaxies in the early universe and to study resolved sites of star
formation in low redshift galaxies. Durham will provide the Principal Investigator for the project, the pickoff module which
relays the light from selected targets within the telescope field of view, and the integral field module which uses micro-
machined image slicers to dissect the light from each selected target.

KMOS has required the development of a number of new technologies with wider applications, including the use of cryogenic positioning robots and process control for the production and test of large numbers of precision diamond-machined optical surfaces.