Ten Subaru Telescope day-crew members received the 2022 NAOJ Director General’s Award, Engineering and Development Category for their "contribution to the long-term stable operation of the Subaru Telescope through continuous maintenance of the Maunakea summit facility and exchange operation of the observing instruments." The NAOJ Director General’s Award is given to an individual or a small group who have made outstanding contributions to NAOJ in research and education, engineering and development, or administrative work.
Figure 1: A group photo of the day crew members and Director Tsuneta at the award ceremony. (left to right) Loreto Villegas-Villeza Jr., Christopher Boggess, Teiji Chiba, Terry Henninger, Director Saku Tsuneta, Jonah Conol, Jordan Akiona, James Ferreira, Michael Kerns, and Raymond Adams. Loreto and Raymond’s images were added after the ceremony. Benjamin Bergin was absent. (Credit: NAOJ)
To maximize the telescope performance during night observations, day crew members go up to the summit facility (Subaru Telescope) on Maunakea and exchange instruments and maintain the telescope. There are two day-crew teams; Day Crew 1 departs the Hilo Base Facility at 6 am, and Day Crew 2 departs at 8 am toward Maunakea. Daily tasks are planned, and they work from different menus every day.
As of April 2023, Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is in operation, an ultra-wide field of view camera mounted on the prime focus at the top of the telescope structure. The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS), another epoch-making instrument, is being developed and conducts engineering observations. Day crew members mount the 3-ton-weight HSC, which is taller than an adult, on the prime focus about 20 meters (about 66 feet) above the floor level. In addition, they need to replace HSC or the PFS Prime Focus Instrument with the secondary mirror when observers use an instrument at another focus.
"I want to express my deepest gratitude to the day crew members who work safely, paying attention to weather changes and other factors at the 4,200-meter (more than 10,000 feet) altitude with only 60% of the oxygen available at sea level. Their skillful high-place work at the prime focus is amazing. The day crew has undoubtedly contributed to the many scientific results of the Subaru Telescope," says Satoshi Miyazaki, Director of Subaru Telescope.
The award ceremony was held on April 27, 2023, Hawai`i Standard Time, at Hilo Base Facility. Director General Saku Tsuneta handed each day crew member a certificate and a commemorative gift. Then Michael Kerns, Day Crew 1 member, and Christopher Boggess, Day Crew 2 leader, gave commemorative talks. They introduced day crew work with various photos, such as removing snow and ice from the frozen summit facility after a snowfall, safety training, instrument exchanges, and their business trip to Mitaka headquarters to participate in an NAOJ Symposium on Techniques in Astronomy.
Figure 2: Christopher Boggess and Michael Kerns presenting day crew work (left) and day crew installing the PFS Prime Focus Instrument at about 20-meter height from the floor (right). This image was introduced in the commemorative talk. (Credit: NAOJ)
"I am delighted to receive the NAOJ Director General’s Award. I have a great team, not only the day crew but all the members of Subaru Telescope. Keeping Subaru on the sky and keeping everything running smoothly," says James Ferreira, Day Crew 1 leader.
Figure 3: James Ferreira receiving a certificate from Director General Saku Tsuneta. (Credit: NAOJ)
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