Lore in Training

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Accompanied by a safety car, Lore, one of the two ALMA transporters, drives up the 28-kilometre road from the ALMA Operations Support Facility (OSF) to the 5000-metre altitude Array Operations Site (AOS). In the picture, taken in June 2010, Lore is being tested as it carries a dummy antenna load (the white structure visible on top). The ALMA transporters, named Lore and Otto, are twin custom vehicles designed to carry the 100-tonne ALMA antennas, and position them with accuracy within millimetres. ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, is the largest astronomical project in existence and is a truly global partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ESO is the European partner in ALMA.

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