ALMA transporter

An Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) antenna en route from the Operations Support Facility to the plateau of Chajnantor for the first time. The ALMA transporter vehicle carefully carries the state-of-the-art antenna, with a diameter of 12 metres and a weight of about 100 tons, on the 28 km journey to the Array Operations Site, which is at an altitude of 5000m. The antenna is designed to withstand the harsh conditions at the extreme altitude, where the very dry and rarefied air is ideal for ALMA’s observations of the Universe at millimetre- and submillimetre-wavelengths.