The Mid-Infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is one of the first generation science instruments on ESO's 39m Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). METIS will provide diffraction-limited imaging and medium resolution slit-spectroscopy from 3 – 13 microns (L, M, and N bands), as well as high resolution (R ~ 100,000) integral field spectroscopy from 2.9 – 5.3 microns. After passing its preliminary design review (PDR) in May 2019, and the final design review (FDR) of its optical system in June 2021, METIS is now preparing for the FDR of its entire system in the fall of 2022, while the procurements of many optical components have already started. First light at the telescope is expected in 2028, after a comprehensive assembly integration and test phase. We describe the conceptual setup of METIS, its key functional components, and the resulting observing modes. Last but not least, we present the expected sensitivity, adaptive optics, and high contrast imaging performance.
METIS, the Mid-infrared E-ELT Imager and Spectrometer, is being designed for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and is currently expected to arrive at the telescope early 2028. As part of the design of the instrument, we are developing the Assembly, Integration and Verification strategy for METIS. Although the sub-systems will be largely qualified at their respective institutes, only once all components come together at system level will it be possible to verify all the interfaces, full system thermal characteristics and full instrument performance. Although one of the smaller instruments for the ELT, the fully integrated METIS will still be more than 7 meters high, with a footprint in excess of 15 square meters and a weight of the order of 10 tons. This paper describes the system level assembly, integration and verification of METIS, both in Europe as well as once delivered to the telescope.
Large astronomical instruments are often built by consortia of research institutes and universities. The different locations of the various teams, the common interests and shared responsibilities of the partner organizations, and the science driven approach of these projects bring unique challenges to conduct systems engineering efficiently. In this paper we report our positive experience within the METIS consortium that is building one of the three first-generation instruments for the ESO ELT. We developed a novel and fully collaborative systems engineering approach that decentralizes the responsibilities across discipline experts and subsystem providers using a webbased software tool to engineer requirements and interfaces. We discuss the problems that forced us to develop this new approach, describe the new processes and tools, and discuss the benefits, risks, and lessons learned.
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