DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTITUTE
STATUS

 
The NESTOR INSTITUTE for DEEP SEA RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY and NEUTRINO ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS was created by the Greek Government in August 1998, as a small National Lab. It has the legal status of an Independent Research Institute under the authority of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development. However read the following message:
 

Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003
From: Leonidas Resvanis

Dear Colleagues

I am pleased to inform you that a few minutes ago, I saw the printed copy
of the Government Gazette according to which, NESTOR becomes the fifth
Institute of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA).
NOA is the oldest research institution in Greece and was established in 1848.

This, will not change our day to day operations but it will give us
long term stability. Further, since we will have an official seat in
Athens, it should be easier to recruit senior research personnel.

best
Leo

 
PURPOSE

 
To exploit the unique characteristics of the, nearby, deepest site (5200 m) in the Mediterranean Sea by hosting NESTOR Neutrino Telescope and a Deep Sea Multidisciplinary Laboratory. 
Part of the Institute’s charge is to evolve into an International Laboratory.

 

LOCATION

 
At the small town of Pylos in the southwest of the Peloponnesse  in the prefecture of Messinia with an annex in the nearby (10 km) village of Methoni (Meudon). Pylos is 280 km from Athens (3.5 hours drive, 2/3 on motorway), 40 km from Kalamata International Airport, 45 km from the Industrial and Port city of Kalamata.

 

BUILDINGS 

 
Office and Lab space: The Institute is housed in a spacious (1000 m²) two storey neoclassical building on the waterfront. 
The building has been classified by the Ministry of Culture as a building of special architectural importance and was renovated recently (including central air conditioning).

Machine shop, assembly and storage space is provided in a nearby industrial building of 900 m² in Pylos.

Terminal cable Station is housed in the Hellenic Telecommunication Organization's (O.T.E.) annex in Methoni.  We also use the second floor of the Methoni Meteorological Station as a counting room whenever it is necessary to have direct" line of sight" communications with the vessels operating in the sea. 

 

COMPUTING FACILITY

 
A cluster of 36 dual Pentium III-based computers (500 MHz) is the backbone of the computer facility (with 36 G flops, 4 Gbytes RAM, 416 Gbytes HD).

 

ELECTRONICS FACILITY

 
Fully equipped electronics lab (analog and digital) as well electrooptical staffed by two full time engineers and one technician.

 

MACHINE SHOP FACILITIES

 
The Institute has a complete machine shop. It is located in a nearby industrial building of 900 m² which also serves as an assembly building for various scientific packages to be deployed in the sea. 
Two hyperbaric chambers can test structures (up to 50 cm diameter) with hydrostatic pressure of up to 600 Atm.

 

DATA HIGHWAY FROM THE DEEP SEA

 
A 31 km-long deep sea cable with 18 monomode optical fibers is the data highway. One copper conductor can deliver up to 6 kW of D.C. power (the power return is done electrolyticaly via the sea) to the scientific payloads attached at its end (depth 4000 m). 
The sea end of the cable is retrievable in order to change the scientific payload. The cable has been deployed in June 2000. The cable landing is in the Methoni beach and terminated in the Terminal cable Station  in Methoni.

 

NAVARINO BAY STATION TEST FACILITY

 
In June 1998 a test facility has been created at 50 m depth in the Navarino Bay, near the Sfaktiria island. It can be used 350 days per year. 
A 4.5 km long deep sea cable with 12 monomode fibers and one copper conductor joins the Institute building with a junction box located on the island of Sfaktiria. 
The purpose is that scientific payloads can be tested for long periods in the bay before they are deployed in the deep.

 

VESSELS

 
The Institute owns a score of less than 5m long boats plus:
  1.  "DELTA BERENIKE", a very large (51 m each side) equilateral triangular ballasted platform with a central well. She can keep station at sea to ±20 m. The platform will be equipped with two 20 Tn winches. 
  2. "LYDIA", a 42 foot (12.5 m) (GRAND BANKS CLASSIC) open sea fast cruiser with two 120 hp diesel motors plus a hydraulic crane for deploying small scientific payloads.
  3. "THALASSOMACHOS": A 6.2 m open sea fast (40 knots) rigid hull inflatable, equipped with a 150 hp motor.

 plus the THALES,  the cable laying ship of Hellenic Telecommunication Organization's (O.T.E.), is available to us, free of charge, for various tests.

 Moreover, Pylos harbor has a host of medium size vessels with cranes plus one large tug-boat.