The radial velocity method
Ground-based radial velocity measurements of candidate planets detected by PLATO will be carried out to confirm or reject the planet…
All posts by PLATOMission
Asteroseismology
Asteroseismology is the study of the intrinsic oscillations (e.g. normal modes) of stars (Aerts et al. 2010). The oscillations generate…
Mission Profile
The overall PLATO mission profile consists of the following phases: Pre-launch phase, from launch campaign preparation to launch vehicle…
Launch scenario and transfer
PLATO is foreseen to be launched in 2026 from Kourou by a Soyuz 2-1b rocket with Fregat upper stage and…
Operations at the Lagrange point 2 (L2)
Operational Orbit PLATO will perform its scientific observations on a free-insertion, large amplitude, eclipse-freelibration orbit around L2. This orbit is unstable…
Telemetry data budget
The available data volume transmitted by K- and X-band antenna is 435 Gb average per day. The budget is separated…
Cameras
Each of the 24 normal and 2 fast cameras includes: the Telescope comprised of the Telescope Optical Unit (N-TOU and…
Top scientific requirements
Planet detection and characterisation R-SCI-L0-01 PLATO shall detect and characterise hundreds of planets around dwarf and subgiant stars of spectral…
Telescope Optical Unit (TOU)
There is no general difference in the TOU design for normal and fast telescopes, but the latter will include filters…
Spacecraft Design
The PLATO spacecraft is a 3-axis stabilised system with a launch mass of 2165 kg, including consumables, and size of…
The PLATO sky
PLATO has a flexible observing approach. Two observing strategies are reflected in the science requirements, long-duration observation of the same…
Science Operations
For each spacecraft pointing, the list of targets to be observed will be identified and compiled in the PLATO Input…
Derived Scientific Requirements
These requirements provide the specification of the mission capabilities, and are derived from the high-level science requirements. R-SCI-035 The capability…
Data Products
The baseline telemetry budget yields a daily data volume of 435 Gb. The data products will be reformatted into…
Wavelength and colour information
R-SCI-290 The payload shall provide high precision photometric time series in the wavelength band of 500 nm to 1000 nm….
Focal Plane Assembly (FPA)
The PLATO detectors are CCDs provided by e2v, model CCD270, specifically developed for this mission. They are built with two…
Observation gaps
“Gaps” are defined as time during which science observations are suspended while other spacecraft operations are performed. R-SCI-400 During nominal…
Front End Electronics (FEE)
The N-FEE operates the 4 CCDs of a normal camera, digitizes the image data and transfers them to the DPU….
Main Electronics Unit (MEU) and Data Processing Units (N-DPU)
Main Electronics Unit (MEU) and Data Processing Units (N-DPU) Each Main Electronics Unit (MEU) gathers in the same box: 6…
Fast Electronics Unit (FEU) and Data Processing Units (F-DPU)
Data of the two fast telescopes are processed by two Fast DPUs (F-DPU). The data acquisition and handling of each…
Ancillary Electrical Units (AEU)
The Ancillary Electronic Units (AEUs) have the following main functions: To supply secondary power to the Front End Electronics (FEE)…
Instrument Control Unit (ICU)
Both ICUs (main and redundant) are located in a single box and work in cold redundancy. Each ICU shall implement…
Ground-based Observation Programme
After identification of a planet candidate, ground-based follow up observations are needed to confirm and characterise the planetary nature of…
Organisation of Ground-based Observation
Required telescope time for planet mass determinations From the information on the planet yield, the cost of “equivalent precision” radial…
Payload accommodation and spacecraft interfaces
The accommodation of 24 normal + 2 fast cameras and associated electronic units has a mass allocation of 533 kg, with…
Science Objectives
PLATO is a transit survey mission with the goal of detecting and providing bulk characterisation for new planets and planetary…
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
A prime goal of PLATO will be to detect a large number of planets, down to the terrestrial regime in…
PLATO artwork
Date: 26 April 2018 Satellite: PLATO Copyright: Artist’s impression © OHB System AG
PLATO papers
Automatized alignment of the focal plane assemblies on the PLATO cameras L. Clermont, J. Jacobs, P. Blain, M. Abreu, B….
platomission.com 