This proposal to NASA by the california association for research in astronomy (cara) DBA w. M. Keck observatory (wmko) is for renewal of the cooperative agreement award for support of NASA missions…

This is a $22,790,650 cooperative agreement between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the California Association for Research in Astronomy (CARA), doing business as the W.M. Keck Observatory (WMKO). The agreement provides NASA with continued access and observational capabilities at WMKO's two 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on Maunakea, Hawaii. This supports NASA's astrophysics and planetary science priorities, including the search for life on exoplanets and studies of the origin and evolution of the universe. The agreement consolidates all direct NASA support for WMKO operations and also funds the Keck Observatory Archive managed in collaboration with NASA's Exoplanet Science Institute. There is no set-aside designation for this award, which has a period of performance through February 2023.

This proposal to NASA by the california association for research in astronomy (cara) DBA w. M. Keck observatory (wmko) is for renewal of the cooperative agreement award for support of NASA missions and NASA scientific research at wmko, which operates the world s two (2) largest steerable optical and infrared telescopes on the summit of maunakea on the island of hawaii. NASA utilizes one-sixth of the annual operation capability of wmko, having invested one-sixth of the capital costs and one-sixth of the operations costs since circa 1996. There has been a wealth of scientific results coming from the dynamic scientific relationship between NASA missions such as hubble space telescope (HST), spitzer, kepler, K2, chandra, herschel, wise, galex, voyager, galileo, deep impact, cassini, new horizons, and the keck observatory. We propose here to extend that productive relationship to future NASA missions; jwst, tess, wfirst, euclid, mars 2020, and other midex, smex, discovery, and new frontiers missions. The link between NASA and wmko is powerful. NASA s space based discoveries inform and are informed by the findings of its ground based partner, the w. M. Keck observatory. NASA related projects are proposed by the US community to nexsci and are awarded observing time provided by NASA. This has proven productive in the past. A prime example is when kepler discovered objects transiting STARS, wmko undertook key observations that established that the candidate exosolar planets were indeed valid exosolar planets, and measured their masses, leading to the achievement of one of NASA s level 1 science goals: making a census of planetary systems down to the level of earth-sized planets. When spitzer and HST both detected an object in the distant universe, wmko delivered the exact redshift of 8.68, well within the region that was thought to be the dark age before reionization. The research program enabled by the NASA/wmko partnership maps directly to the astrophysical and planetary priorities of NASA: the origin and evolution of the universe, the processes for life on other planets, the processes of formation of STARS, galaxies, and planets, and the content, origin, and evolution of the solar system and the potential for life elsewhere. The scope of the astrophysics and planetary science is breathtaking, ranging from the birth of the universe and the development of STARS and galaxies over cosmic time, to the search for life on planets around other STARS, to the formation, evolution, and possibility of life on other planets in our own solar system. The two 10-meter primary apertures, diverse instrument suite including adaptive optics and the superb location on maunakea make wmko an extraordinarily powerful and unique facility for addressing the research areas described above. Additionally, wmko can react quickly to NASA mission needs, rearranging nights on short notice. The track record of discoveries by scientists using the wmko in conjunction with NASA missions over the last two (2) decades gives strong testimony to that case. The program corresponding to NASA s in-guide funding amount provides NASA one-sixth of wmko operations support and, in collaboration with the NASA exoplanet science institute (nexsci), wmko will continue its keck observatory archive (KOA) activities. In addition, we submit here an over-guide that allows for the development of data reduction pipelines (drps) over a period of five (5) years, to speed the reduction of new data with improved tools and to access the information inherent in 25 years of the keck sky easily and efficiently for all users. This proposal consolidates all direct NASA support for wmko into one award.