CERN and the collaboration behind the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the execution of the experiment, which will take place not at CERN, or elsewhere on Earth, but in space. The new MOU foresees the establishment at CERN of the experiment’s Payload Operations and Control Centre, and the Science Operations Centre. CERN will also provide areas for the assembly and testing of the AMS detector, as well as offices for users and secretarial support.
AMS is a major international collaboration that is led by Sam Ting of MIT. The principal goal of the AMS experiment, which will be located on board the International Space Station, is to look for antiparticles in the primary cosmic radiation of outer space. Other objectives of the experiment include searching for dark matter and carefully analysing details of the cosmic-ray spectrum. The detector will be equipped with a powerful superconducting magnet and sophisticated detectors for precision tracking, particle identification and photon detection.
AMS has been a “recognized experiment” at CERN since 1997. The new MOU, which is a significant upgrade of the previous agreement, has a duration of five years and can be renewed.
