
Prof. Dr. Massimo Tarenghi
Director
ALMA-Project, Chile
„Discovery“
75 percent of the universe consists of energy, which is absolutely unknown to us right now. This is the reason for our research. We will discover things, which have never been seen before. I am sure, there will be life in the universe, but I am also sure, that we will never be able to communicate with them.
„Giant steps“
We create an order of magnitude, or more, improvement in all areas of mm astronomy, including: sensitivity, resolution, frequency coverage, imaging, enabled by unprecedented antenna and receiver performance, and site quality.
„Enthusiasm for Success“
We started in the 1980ies. The project is a collaboration of three partners from three different continents. The total investment is about 4 billion US Dollar. The target for starting the operation is 2014 and the total operation time is about 30 years. I can tell you, the key of success of such a project is enthusiasm from the beginning to the end.