AURA, Inc., P. O. Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726-6732

66 -- ASTRONOMICAL MID-INFRARED IMAGER SOL AO-97-USGP-01 DUE 062097 POC Contact Point, A. Commissaris, Assistant Contracts Administrator, 520-318-8241 E-MAIL: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., andyc@noao.edu. The Gemini 8-m Telescopes Project, an international consortium constructing two eight-meter astronomical telescopes, requires the design, fabrication, and commissioning of an 8-25 micron mid-infrared imager for operation on Mauna Kea, Hawaii and Cerro Pachon, Chile. The imager must deliver high image quality, low instrument background of less than 1% effective emissivity and high throughput. The imager should employ a ~256 x 256 Si:As IBC detector array, a single plate scale less than 0.13 arcsec/pixel and incorporate 20-30 cold filters. Proposals for either fixed-price or cost reimbursement arrangements will be accepted, though the former are preferred. The funding available is highly constrained and proposers are strongly encouraged to identify internal or external sources of additional funding, in exchange for guaranteed observing time. For the more complete Announcement of Opportunity, please FAX name and address to A. Commissaris at 520/318-8560. (0127)

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