Supply and Installation of A-Step Mount Drive

The University of Birmingham and CNRS have closely collaborated since 2019 to develop a program of observations of exoplanets from Antarctica in the frame of the ASTEP project lead by the Lagrange Laboratory at OCA. A new focal instrument was developed for the ASTEP telescope. The University of Birmingham contributed a new camera with large bandwidth and this will be installed on the telescope at the end of 2021 for its use during the southern winter 2022 and further. The scientific teams of the CNRS and the University of Birmingham, both agree to develop a new direct-drive mount, called ASTEP-Mount, specifically designed for the conditions in Antarctica, to replace the present ASTEP commercial mount. The University of Birmingham will provide a financial contribution to the CNRS which covers a part of the cost of the new mount and CNRS will be in charge of the purchase, assembly, tests, adaptation and installation of the ASTEP-Mount at the Concordia station in Antarctica. CNRS, the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, the University of Birmingham and ESA are contributing to this upgrade.