Two major new astronomical surveys have begun using the KMOS instrument on the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, marking an important milestone for a cutting‑edge instrument designed and built at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) in Edinburgh.

KMOS (the K‑band Multi Object Spectrograph) allows astronomers to observe multiple targets at once using 24 robotic arms, each carrying its own integral field unit. This powerful capability makes it ideal for studying both distant galaxies and regions of our own Milky Way.

The newly launched surveys, EMPOWER (an extragalactic programme) and the VVVX‑GalCen Spectroscopic Survey (focused on the Galactic Centre), were formally approved following ESO's international review process and began gathering data in January 2026.

Both surveys will run for the next three years, collecting large datasets that will help researchers understand how galaxies evolve across cosmic time as well as the detailed structure and history of the centre of our own Galaxy. Their observing strategies, data‑reduction approaches, and release plans have now been published by ESO, making the programmes fully open to the global research community.

For the UK ATC, this marks another major chapter in the life of an instrument built, engineered and assembled in Edinburgh before being delivered to the VLT. KMOS has been operating at ESO's Paranal Observatory for over a decade and continues to enable high‑impact science thanks to the unique technology developed by UK ATC engineers and scientists.

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