Following the decision taken by ESO on Aug 28 of resuming minimal science operations, the APEX observatory staff has successfully executed the ramp-up plan that was conceived during the previous months. A small team of engineers and astronomers awakened the 12-m antenna and several of the scientific instruments that were unpowered or in stand by since the end of March, when operations had to be suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
APEX Resumes Science Operations in Minimal Mode
Published: 25 Sep 2020
After an intensive work of verification and preparation, the APEX telescope has already started scientific observations and is working in a minimal operation mode of 8h per day and only during nighttime. The SEPIA180 and SEPIA660 receivers are now available for science, and in parallel commissioning activities are taking place with the new instruments delivered and installed at the beginning of the year: SEPIA345, nFLASH230 and nFLASH460.
The APEX team wants to thank all partners for the support received during these special times, and in particular to ESO and ALMA for their logistic effort and support to ensure the safety of the staff and the facilities.