CELESTE represents a visionary initiative by the Instituto de Astrofsica de Canarias (IAC) for positioning the Canary Islands as a hub of excellence for pioneering research and technology development centered on two interlinked domainsAdvanced Optical Systems and New Space. CELESTE will elevate IACTEC (the IACs division dedicated to industry collaboration) into a self-sustaining Center of Excellence (CoE). This will be achieved in close collaboration with world-leading institutions, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), who will bring key knowhow in ground-breaking knowledge areas such as advanced astronomical instrument design, quantum communication technologies for secure space-to-Earth data transmission, and the development of ultra-high precision optical elements for astronomical observations. Also, strategic managerial knowhow. A key driver of CELESTE is the Smart Specialization Strategy for the Canary Islands (2021-2027), which strongly supports the international leadership in Astrophysics and Space Sciences. A recent study by the region revealed the positive impact of the astrophysical activity to the Canary Islands' GDP, and for every million euros spent in the sector 45 jobs are generated. To scale this, CELESTE will allow to fully exploit ongoing investments that are already programmed for the next years. CELESTE project will focus on creating the core structure for the long-term autonomy of IACTEC as self-sustained CoE (securing stable agreements with international partners and ensuring financial stability), foster productive training and exchange programs to attract and consolidate talent, setting up and operating a new battery of high-tech laboratories, and build a robust ecosystem of stakeholders.

With this Twinning With this Twinning action we aim to strengthen the research and networking capacity, profile and impact of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) in the area of galaxies through the development of strategic alliances of this regionally leading institute in an Outermost Region of the EU (OR), with three excellent European partners. An initial SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the galaxies group has revealed that it is strong and internationally relevant in the area of optical observational research in galaxies, but that, in order to remain competitive and increase its national and international impact, it needs to strengthen in the areas of numerical modelling, radio astronomy, the exploitation of the most modern observational surveys, as well as European proposal preparation and management. We therefore team up with three very important European partners, the University of Groningen (RUG) in particular for radio astronomy, the University of Durham (ICC) for numerical modelling, and the CNRS - Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg (ObAS) for exploitation of modern observational surveys. Each of these partners has a long history of world-leading excellence, performed by teams built around prize-winning scientists. We aim to perform joint research, develop strategies for increased competitiveness, and ensure sustainable improvements as well as lasting collaborations in world-class science. In parallel, we will enhance the capacities within the IAC in top-level project management, administration and strategic skills, and share the new-found excellence and best practice with academic and industry partners in the region. Our project contains a research pilot aimed at using the most modern opportunities achievable through our partners to increase the IAC's expertise in numerical modelling, radio astronomy, and modern survey exploitation, studying galaxies within and outside the Local Group.

PI2FA proposal’s overarching aim is to make a major breakthrough in our understanding of the magnetised solar chromosphere under a novel frame of a multi-fluid plasma theory. Future large-aperture solar telescopes, EST and DKIST, will have among their primary focus observations of chromospheric magnetic fields. The correct interpretation of solar data requires sophisticated theories. The solar atmosphere is made of strongly stratified, weakly ionised and not completely collisionally coupled plasma. In the previous PI’s ERC SPIA project we opened a new research line and performed systematic investigations of non-ideal effects due to neutrals in the solar plasma. To build the complexity step by step, we advanced a single-fluid formalism, best valid for a strongly collisionally coupled case. Nevertheless, a multi-fluid treatment is essential for the weakly coupled chromosphere because the processes of the energy transport and conversion happen at nearly collisional scales. Now it is the right moment to take advantage and consolidate the experience gained in the SPIA project and to bring our research to a new level of challenge. The ambition of the PI2FA proposal is to create and apply tools for multi-dimensional modelling of the solar chromosphere under a precise two-fluid multi-species approach. In the recent few years it has been repeatedly demonstrated that processes related to non-ideal plasma behaviour due to neutrals may be the key to solve the problem of chromospheric heating and dynamics. PI2FA project will make progress in the following questions: determination of chromospheric heating mechanisms; understanding destabilization mechanisms of prominences related to neutrals, and creation of multi-dimensional two-fluid models of the solar chromosphere. These models will include altogether complex interactions down to smallest scales and allow direct comparison to observations, as a way to prepare our community for the coming large-aperture telescopes.

The landscape of future ground-based European astronomical research infrastructures expected to start in the 2030s is broad and diverse, ranging from low-frequency radio (SKAO), to the optical (ELT, EST), all the way to cosmic rays (CTAO) and gravitational waves (Einstein Telescope). There are two glaring omissions, however. The first is a sensitive, high resolution next-generation facility operating at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths (0.35-10 mm), a crucial observing window for the study of a broad range of astrophysical objects, from our Solar System to the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe. The second is that currently planned facilities are not truly prepared to operate in a low carbon emissions future, meeting the needs of the research community and the aspirations of the EU for carbon-neutrality. This project, consolidating the plans for the 50-meter Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), directly addresses both needs, providing solutions that will inform other observatories along the way, especially our partners ESFRI landmark (ESO-ELT) and project (EST). Our ambition is to harness European knowhow and cooperate on a global scale to revolutionise our understanding of the (sub-)mm universe, while pushing observational astronomy towards a greener future. Strengthened by a H2020-funded design study and an engaged community of about 200 researchers worldwide, we have produced science cases, telescope conceptual designs, and plans for a sustainable, off-grid power system. We are now ready to consolidate the AtLAST concept, prototype and test our technology solutions, perform a full lifecycle assessment of the facility, and to expand our user community. By the end of this project, AtLAST will have increased the technology readiness level of its crucial components and undergone preliminary design review, ready to move the project to its implementation phase.