AURA, Inc., 950 N. Cherry Ave., P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726-6732

66 -- ASTRONOMICAL MID-INFRARED IMAGER Sol AO-96-USGP-01 due 030796. Contact Point, K. Wood, 520/318-8175. The Gemini 8-m Telescopes Project, an international consortium constructing two eight-meter astronomical telescopes, requires the conceptual design of a 5-25 micron mid-infrared imager for operation on Mauna Kea, Hawaii and Cerro Pachon, Chile. The imager must deliver high image quality, a low instrument background of less than 1% effective emissivity and high throughput. The imager should employ a (approx.) 256x256 Si:As IBC detector array, plate scale less than 0.13 arcsec/pixel and incorporate 20-30 cold filters. Contract award will be for a fixed-price conceptual design. A second open competition will be conducted to select a contractor for the final design, fabrication, and commissioning contract. The funding available is highly constrained and proposers are strongly encouraged to identify internal or external sources of additional funding for both the conceptual design and final instrument contract. For the more complete Announcement of Opportunity, please FAX name and address to K. Wood at 520/318-8596. (039)

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