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  • The PLATO Mission
    • Overview
    • PLATO Fast Facts
    • In Depth
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  • Science
    • Science Objectives
      • Planetary Science
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    • The PLATO Way
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  • Publications
    • PLATO papers
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    • PLATO @ESASciTech
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    • PDC

Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars: the ESA M3 mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025

Sections
  • Project Management
    • PLATO Funding Agencies
    • PLATO ESA Study Team
    • PSWT
    • PLATO Consortium
      • PLATO Consortium Lead (PI)
        • PI & co-PI Office
      • PMC Board
      • CCD Working Group
      • PLATO Performance Team
      • Consortium Members
      • PLATOSim
      • Involved Institutes
  • Payload
    • Payload Module
      • Cameras
      • DPS
    • Payload Teams
  • PSM
  • PDC
  • Contacts
  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Payload Progress Meeting, 05-06 Feb 2020, ESTEC (Leiden)

  • ArtWork

    ESA’s new renders and animations of PLATO

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #9, 9-11 Oct 2019, Marseille

  • News

    PLATO LEGO model

  • News

    Delivery of first detectors for PLATO’s exoplanet mission

  • ArtWork

    ESA’s fleet of cosmic observers

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #8, Graz, 15-17 April 2019

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #7, Cambridge, 5-7 December 2018

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO ESP2018: Stellar variability and its effect on the characterisation of small planets, 24-26 Oct 2018, Marseille

  • ArtWork

    PLATO artwork

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #6, Madrid, 13-15 March 2018

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    Camera AIV Meeting, Munich 13-14 Feb 2018

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    Plato Week #5, Porto, 24-26 Oct 2017

  • Meeting on Exoplanets, Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Mission Conference 2017, Warwick, 5-7 Sep 2017

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #4, Jun 20-22 2017, Albanova Univ., Stockholm

  • Meetings, PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #3, 13-15 Mar 2017, Göttingen

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #2, 8-10 Nov 2016, ASI, Rome

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Week #1, July 2016 at KU Leuven

  • ArtWork

    PLATO artwork

  • ArtWork

    PLATO artwork

  • ArtWork

    PLATO artwork

  • Pictures, Rendering

    PLATO satellite – TAS model

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Payload Meeting, Berlin 15-17 July 2015

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Science Meeting in Taormina, Italy – 3-5 Dec 2014

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Phase B1 KOM, Berlin, 16-17 July 2014

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO TOU Team Meeting, Catania 28 Feb – 1 Mar 2011

  • PLATO Meetings

    PLATO Science Conference, Berlin, 24-25 Feb 2011

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PLATO is the M3 mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Program of the European Space Agency. With 26 telescopes of 20 cm class, that all togheter collect photons like a telescope of 1 m class covering a field of view 10,000 times the area of the full Moon, it will survey the brightest stars in the sky for transiting planets. PLATO sensitivity and operation mode will allow the detection of earth analogues - for mass and orbit - orbiting solar-like stars, a task that will not be covered by any other project in this decade.
PLATO launch is planned in 2026.
This site is maintained by the PLATO Mission Consortium, a community of scientists and engineers, that in collaboration with ESA, are involved in designing and producing the PLATO Payload, and in setting up the Science Program and the mission Ground Segment.
Science Objectives
Planet detection and characterisation of bulk parameters

Planet detection and characterisation of bulk parameters

Since the discovery of the first extrasolar planet orbiting a solar type star in 1995 (Mayor & Queloz 1995),  just…

  • PLATO study planets where they form
  • Habitability of planets around solar-like stars
  • Testing Planet Formation
  • Multiple Planet Systems
  • Terrestrial Planets
Science Requirements
  • Top scientific requirements

    Top scientific requirements

  • Derived Scientific Requirements
  • Wavelength and colour information
  • Observation gaps
Mission in depth
  • Mission Profile

    Mission Profile

  • Launch scenario and transfer
  • Operations at the Lagrange point 2 (L2)
  • Telemetry data budget
The PLATO Way
  • PLATO Measurement Concept

    PLATO Measurement Concept

  • The transit method
  • The radial velocity method
  • Asteroseismology
Payload
  • PLATO focal plane assembly (FPA) preliminary design review hold in Madrid, June 2019

    PLATO focal plane assembly (FPA) preliminary design review hold in Madrid, June 2019

  • Payload Module
  • Cameras
  • Telescope Optical Unit (TOU)
Ground Segment
  • Science Operations

    Science Operations

  • Data Products
  • Ground-based Observation Programme
  • Organisation of Ground-based Observation
Payload Management
  • Payload Management & Engineering Office 

    Payload Management & Engineering Office 

  • Camera AIV Teams
  • TOU Team
  • ICU Team
FactSheets
  • PLATO and the search for planets in the habitable zone

    PLATO and the search for planets in the habitable zone

  • TESS and PLATO at a glance
Meetings
  • PLATO Week #10, 26-28 May 2020, Webex

    PLATO Week #10, 26-28 May 2020, Webex

  • Towards Other Earth III: from Solar System to Exoplanets, 1-5 June 2020, Portugal
  • PLATO Payload Progress Meeting, 05-06 Feb 2020, ESTEC (Leiden)
  • PLATO Stellar Science Workshop #3, 19-22 Nov 2019, Barcelona
PLATO People

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Publications
  • PLATO papers

    PLATO papers

  • ESA Books
Newsletter
  • Newsletter #30

    Newsletter #30

  • Newsletter #29
  • Newsletter #28
  • Newsletter #27
Pictures from Meetings
  • Milazzo (Italy), 22-25 May 2018

    Milazzo (Italy), 22-25 May 2018

  • Madrid, 12-14 Mar 2018
  • Munich, 13-14 Feb 2018
  • Padova, 7 Nov 2017
Payload Models
  • Telescope Optical Unit Prototype

    Telescope Optical Unit Prototype

  • Telescope Optical Unit BreadBoard
Videos
PLATO’s eye

PLATO’s eye

PLATO combined cameras will have an extremely wide field of view, covering a total area on the sky of approximately…

  • Optical Segmentation for a huge Field of View
  • PLATO vs. Kepler FoV
  • PLATO’s eye
  • PLATO Observing Concept
  • PLATO Long Pointing and Step & Stare Phases
Upcoming Events
  • Payload Progress Meeting #14 03/02/2021 – 04/02/2021
News
PLATO System Engineer for the “Camera System” position open at INAF – IAPS, Rome

PLATO System Engineer for the “Camera System” position open at INAF – IAPS, Rome

PLATO System engineering open position for the “Camera system” of the payload of the ESA PLATO mission – INAF IAPS,…

  • PLATO PhD position in the payload development activities – KU Leuven
  • PLATO Engineer for Data Processing position open at LESIA – Observatoire de Paris
  • PLATO Multiple Research Positions at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Goettingen, Germany
  • Post-Doc fellowship at INAF – Catania
  • PhD at LESIA – Observatoire de Paris-Meudon
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