Image of the week
Port cell with a view
25 Sep 2023
A visit to ITER would not be complete without a peek into the Tokamak pit where the machine is being progressively assembled. For several years, one of the equatorial "port cells" (large openings through the bioshield and cryostat) served as viewing point. But the spot was also a passageway to the scaffolding stairs leading in and out of the pit, and it had to be closed to visits when different activities, such as metrology, were performed.
The new viewing point, in a dedicated port cell equipped with a plexiglass pane, offers an aquarium-like view that is particularly striking.
In order for assembly activities to proceed undisturbed while offering visitors the best possible view on the "Holy of Holies," where the artificial Sun will rise, another of the 17 equatorial port cells, still unused, has been exclusively reserved for visitors. Equipped with a plexiglass pane to prevent objects from falling into the pit, it offers an aquarium-like view that is particularly striking. Even better than the one from the previous port cell.