Community Lessons from builders of infrared multi-object spectrographs

Abstract

We present a summary of lessons learned from our community on the design and construction of infrared multi-object spectrographs. As members of the Magellan Infrared Multi-Object Spectrograph (MIRMOS) development team, we were motivated to learn about the most common troubles faced by our colleagues and incorporate measures in our design and assembly plan to address known issues. The lessons are compiled as a result of interviews we carried out with members of the instrument development teams for several multi-object infrared spectrographs. We found considerable overlap in the lessons learned for building this type of instrument; many of which relate to the cryogenic operation of the instruments. In this paper, we will present the compilation of general and specific lessons which we found relevant for the successful development of MIRMOS or any other future cryogenic instruments.

arXiv comment6 pages, presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2026, Copenhagen, Denmark