S. Watson, A. Cabral, I. Guinouard, F. Pedichini, O. A. Gonzalez, S. Beard, D. Lee, C. Waring

Abstract
MOONS is the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph for the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). MOONS will be able to simultaneously observe ~1000 targets using individual robotic theta-phi positioners. The instrument will provide both medium and high-resolution spectral coverage across the wavelength range of 0.65 μm to 1.8 μm. In this paper we will describe the integration and testing of the fully-assembled Rotating Front End of MOONS. This incorporates the fibre positioning module, the front-end structure and the metrology, calibration and acquisition sub-systems. There will also be a discussion of system control and associated hazard analyses and safety cases. The as-built performance of the completed system will be demonstrated, including metrology-verified fibre positioning accuracy, reconfiguration efficiency, and flat-field fibre calibration performance. Finally, a summary of the successful installation of the field corrector assembly at VLT UT1 will be presented.

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy X
Kentaro Motohara Julia J. Bryant

SPIE
Proceedings of the SPIE
Volume 13096
2024 July

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