ELT: MICADO enters the manufacturing phase

After a lengthy design phase, the MICADO consortium partners recently shared photos of some of the subsystems currently being manufactured.

**Field selector of the adaptive optics of 1st light of MICADO**

Recently assembled at LESIA of Paris Observatory (PSL univ.), this mechanical assembly was designed by the technical division of INSU.

crédit : INSU/LESIA

Discover Micado in video

On the occasion of this important project milestone, ESO (in collaboration with the MICADO consortium) has produced the first episode of an explanatory video series, presented live on the ESO YouTube channel on Friday, May 12, 2023.

**Watch again the video presentation of MICADO, with the participation of Eric Gendron, astronomer at Paris Observatory - PSL (PSL univ.)**

crédit : ESO

MICADO will equip the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) with a first imaging capability to provide high-resolution images of the Universe at near-infrared wavelengths.

**Artist’s view of the Extremely Large Telescope**

crédit : ESO

It will be the ideal instrument to identify exoplanets, reveal the detailed structure of distant galaxies, or study individual stars in nearby galaxies. MICADO will also be a unique and powerful tool for exploring environments where gravitational forces and the effects of general relativity are extremely strong, such as those exerted near the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

**Diagram of the subsystems of the MICADO instrument**

crédit : ESO / Consortium MICADO

The high technology implemented in the instrument will allow it to go far beyond the capabilities of the best observatories we have today, including those of the Hubble Space Telescope. Its sensitivity will be comparable to that of the James Webb Space Telescope, but with six times the resolution.

French contributions to MICADO

France is a major partner of the MICADO consortium with the responsibility of the adaptive optics system of first light of the instrument and its high contrast imaging mode. Under the direction of LESIA at Paris Observatory - PSL, these developments also involve several French laboratories and national structures:

Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique de l’Observatoire de Paris - PSL (LESIA – Observatoire de Paris - PSL)
Laboratoire Galaxies, Étoiles, Physique, Instrumentation de l’Observatoire de Paris - PSL (GEPI – Observatoire de Paris-PSL / CNRS / Sorbonne Université / Université Paris Cité)
Institut Univers, Temps-Fréquence, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et Environnement, Molécules (UTINAM – OSU THETA)
La division technique de l’INSU (DT INSU)
Laboratoire Charles Fabry (LCF - CNRS / Institut d’Optique Graduate School / Université Paris-Saclay, Institut : INSIS)
Laboratoire des Matériaux Avancés – IP2I (LMA - CNRS / Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut : IN2P3)

The ELT and MICADO are expected to begin operating by the end of this decade.

For more information : }
L’instrument ELT - MICADO sur le site du LESIA

MICADO will equip the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) with a first imaging capability to provide high-resolution images of the Universe at near-infrared wavelengths.

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