The Majorana project: determining mββ to the 50 meV scale through ββ measurements in 76Ge

The goal of the Majorana project is to provide limits on the effective neutrino mass at the level of 50 meV through measurements of neutrinoless double beta-decay in 76Ge. The planned experiment relies entirely on proven technology and uses materials and techniques demonstrated to produce the lowest background per kilogram of fiducial germanium. It will utilize 500 kg of germanium detector material enriched to 86% 76Ge. Each detector subunit will be segmented and instrumented for digital pulse acquisition, with both the segmentation and pulse digitization providing us with powerful signatures for background signals coming from processes other than neutrinoless double beta-decay. We present an overview of the Majorana project and include some details characterizing a prototype for our segmented detector elements: SEGA (the Segmented, Enriched Germanium Assembly)