The PLATO Mission
The PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars mission (PLATO) is the M3 mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Programme.
PLATO aims at finding and characterising a large number of extrasolar planetary systems, with emphasis on the properties of the terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around bright solar-like stars. PLATO also aims at investigating seismic activity in stars, enabling the precise characterisation of the planets’ host star, including its age. PLATO will provide accurate determinations of the planet radii, stellar irradiation, architecture of planetary systems and evolutionary ages/stages. In combination with ground-based observations, PLATO will provide accurate planetary masses and mean densities.
For achieving its science objectives, PLATO relies on high-precision photometry to produce a science data product consisting of a large sample of stellar light curves and astrometry measurements, obtained over time intervals of months to several years with a high duty cycle.
The scientific payload consists of 26 Cameras with a wide combined field of view of ~2250 deg2, performing photometric observation a visible wavelengths and their the associated digital and analogue electronics. During science observations, the payload will produce a large number of high-accuracy stellar-lightcurves and images over large fields and targets that will be downlinked to ground for further calibration and data-processing in order to produce the required times series for scientific analysis.
PLATO will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, with a medium size launcher vehicle into a transfer to a large orbit around the second Lagrangian Point (L2) of the sun-earth system.
PLATO aims at finding and characterising a large number of extrasolar planetary systems, with emphasis on the properties of the terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around bright solar-like stars. PLATO also aims at investigating seismic activity in stars, enabling the precise characterisation of the planets’ host star, including its age. PLATO will provide accurate determinations of the planet radii, stellar irradiation, architecture of planetary systems and evolutionary ages/stages. In combination with ground-based observations, PLATO will provide accurate planetary masses and mean densities.
For achieving its science objectives, PLATO relies on high-precision photometry to produce a science data product consisting of a large sample of stellar light curves and astrometry measurements, obtained over time intervals of months to several years with a high duty cycle.
The scientific payload consists of 26 Cameras with a wide combined field of view of ~2250 deg2, performing photometric observation a visible wavelengths and their the associated digital and analogue electronics. During science observations, the payload will produce a large number of high-accuracy stellar-lightcurves and images over large fields and targets that will be downlinked to ground for further calibration and data-processing in order to produce the required times series for scientific analysis.
PLATO will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, with a medium size launcher vehicle into a transfer to a large orbit around the second Lagrangian Point (L2) of the sun-earth system.
