Status of the amica project: ready for the antarctic adventure

The status of the AMICA project is reported. Final tests are currently running at Teramo Observatory before moving the instrument to Antarctica. AMICA is a camera equipped with two array detectors to perform astronomical imaging in the 2–28 μ m band. It will be mounted at the IRAIT focal plane. Its very special feature is the antarctic operability. AMICA subsystems have been tested at typical antarctic conditions, in order to adopt technological solutions that ensure the correct operation of AMICA even on the antarctic plateau. Moreover, since human operations are not possible during the antarctic “winter", AMICA has been designed to operate in a completely automatic mode. AMICA is essentially aimed to demonstrate the potential of Antarctica for Infrared Astronomy and should therefore produce significant data, both for astronomy and site-testing. In addition, the experience gained in its technological development will be useful for building future astronomical instruments for extreme environment sites.