#CANADA FRANCE HAWAII TELESCOPE ALAN UPGRADE#

Although planned changes for MSE are of smaller impact than those categorized as “redevelopment” in the Master Plan and the state's Administrative Rules, MSE is subject to the approval processes that is defined in these documents and managed by Hawai‘i's Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).ĬFHT occupies the a site on Maunakea under a sublease to General Lease S-4191 between the State of Hawai‘i and the University of Hawai‘i (UH). The Master Plan explicitly recognizes CFHT as one of the summit sites that will be redeveloped, while the Comprehensive Management Plan prescribes the development and approval process. Lead documents in the management of the Maunakea lands are the Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan (June 2000) and the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan (20). The project design work is funded through cash managed by the Management Group and disbursed by CFHT Corp, as well as through in-kind work by most of the participants. The project is governed by a Management Group of members from each of the participants. University groups in Spain also played a key design role in earlier phases of the project. The MSE participants in 2018 consists of national-level or state-level organizations in Canada, France, Hawai‘i, Australia, China and India, with CFHT Corp as the executive agency for the project. In 2014, the CFHT established a project office in Waimea HI, to lead and develop the project though to the start of construction.

#CANADA FRANCE HAWAII TELESCOPE ALAN UPGRADE#

The MSE project initially took shape through a feasibility study led by the National Research Council of Canada, which showed the strength of the science case for a large aperture dedicated multiobject spectroscopic facility, as well as the technical feasibility of such a facility as an upgrade to CFHT. The project schedule anticipates receiving permission in 2021 to proceed to final design and construction phases, leading to a start of science commissioning in 2029. The project completed a conceptual design in early 2018. MSE will use an 11.25 meter aperture telescope and dedicated multiobject fibre spectroscopy instrumentation to perform survey science observations, collecting spectra from more than 4,000 astronomical targets simultaneously. At the highest level the objectives of MSE are to enhance scientific research and education for the partner communities. The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) is a collaborative project by a new and enlarged partnership to revitalize the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope (CFHT) observatory through replacing the existing 1970-vintage optical telescope with a modern segmented-mirror telescope and dedicated science instrumentation, while substantially re-using the existing Maunakea summit building and facility.

Canada france hawaii telescope alan