Lore in training

Lore, one of the two ALMA transporters, drives down the 28-kilometre road from the 5000-metre altitude Array Operations Site (AOS) to the 2900-metre Operations Support Facility (OSF). In the picture, taken in June 2010, Lore is being tested as it carries a dummy antenna load (the white structure visible on top). At the side of the road, the endemic giant cacti that dominate the landscape at the altitude range from 3000 to 3800 metres are visible. 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.