MARVEL consists of four 80cm telescopes linked via optical fibres to a custom-built spectrograph capable of detecting velocity shifts in target stars of 1 metre per second (a slow walking pace). It will support NASA's TESS and PLATO and the European Space Agency's ARIEL space missions by measuring exoplanet masses, orbits and host star activity from the ground.
With an expected completion date in 2025, MARVEL will be installed as an extension of the Flemish Mercator Telescope at the Roque De Los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma.
KU Leuven are leading the international consortium with contributions from Belgium, the UK, Austria, Australia, Sweden, Denmark and Spain. The UK ATC is providing the charge coupled detector system, a newly developed device with 10k x 10k pixels and exceptionally low dark current.
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