Towards in-beam spectroscopy of the heaviest elements

New developments in nuclear spectroscopy of prompt emission at the target a nd decay emission at the focal plane of recoil separators are described her e. In-beam gamma -ray measurements of even-even nuclei in the rotational su perheavy region, No-252,No-254, have been carried out. These measurements h ave revealed the properties of the ground state rotational bands. Attempts to measure the properties of odd mass nuclei await the further development of conversion electron spectroscopy, and early results from the SACRED spec trometer used in conjunction with the recoil separator RITU are given here. The future development of sensitive focal plane instruments, to identify d ecay processes following the radioactive decay of the parent nucleus is als o described.