The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher or NIRPS is a precision radial velocity spectrograph developed through collaborative efforts among laboratories in Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, France, Portugal and Spain. NIRPS extends to the 0.98-1.8 μm domain of the pioneering HARPS instrument at the La Silla 3.6-m telescope in Chile and it has achieved unparalleled precision, measuring stellar radial velocities in the infrared with accuracy better than 1 m/s. NIRPS can be used either standalone, or simultaneously with HARPS. Commissioned in late 2022 and early 2023, NIRPS embarked on a 5-year Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program in April 2023, spanning 720 observing nights. This program focuses on planetary systems around M dwarfs, encompassing both the immediate solar vicinity and transit follow-ups, alongside transit and emission spectroscopy observations. We highlight NIRPS’s current performances and the insights gained during its deployment at the telescope. The lessons learned and successes achieved contribute to the ongoing advancement of precision radial velocity measurements and high spectral fidelity, further solidifying NIRPS’ role in the forefront of the field of exoplanets.
We describe the instrument’s design and architecture, emphasizing its unique features. The design is driven by requirements on resolving power, slit area, spectral coverage and stability. The instrument can operate in seeinglimited or SCAO modes, with options for sky and/or calibration measurements. In SCAO mode, it can use a small Integral Field Unit (IFU) with different spaxel scales. The light from the telescope reaches the Front-End on the Nasmyth platform, which has four insertable modules: two seeing-limited arms, one SCAO arm and one IFU arm. They are connected by fibres or fibre bundles to the Spectrographs in different locations: the Nasmyth Platform and the Coud´e room. The wavelength splitting depends on the fibre transparency. The subsystems are placed at different distances from the telescope. In Phase-B-one, we performed analyses to define the best trade-off for the budgets and architecture. We extended the spectrographs toward the goal ranges as much as possible. ANDES is complex, but its sophisticated and modular design will enable next-generation astronomy research.
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