European antennas at ALMA's Operations Support Facility
{"Image ImageDescription": "In  this photograph from 2012, we see antennas destined to become part of the Atacama  Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The three antennas in the  foreground, as well as some of those in the background, were supplied by ESO as part of its contribution to ALMA, through a contract with  the European AEM Consortium [1]. In total ESO is providing 25 of the  12-metre-diameter antennas. A further twenty-five 12-metre antennas are  provided by the North American ALMA partner, while the remainder, a set  of twelve 7-metre and four 12-metre antennas comprising the Atacama  Compact Array, are provided by the East Asian ALMA partner. The  antennas are seen here at ALMA\u2019s Operations Support Facility (OSF), at  an altitude of 2900 metres in the foothills of the Chilean Andes. Those  in the foreground are in the AEM Site Erection Facility, where the  antennas are assembled and rigorously tested before they are handed over  to the observatory. The antennas in the background have been handed  over, and are undergoing further tests or having their sensitive  receivers installed. Once the antennas are ready, they are transported  to the Array Operations Site, on the Chajnantor Plateau at an altitude  of 5000 metres. There, they join their counterparts as part of the ALMA  array, working to study some of the deepest questions of our cosmic  origins. Even once all the antennas are ready, the OSF will remain the  centre of activities for the daily operation of ALMA, as a workplace for  astronomers and the teams responsible for maintaining the observatory. On  the horizon is the Andes mountain range, the tallest peak belonging to  the conical volcano, Licancabur. Licancabur marks the border between  Chile and Bolivia and dominates the landscape of the area. ALMA,  an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North  America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA  construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on  behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory  (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical  Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides  the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning  and operation of ALMA. Notes [1] The AEM Consortium is composed of Thales Alenia Space, European Industrial Engineering, and MT-Mechatronics. Links  More about ALMA at ESO Joint ALMA Observatory"}