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\t\t\t\t\t\t23\/04\/2026<\/span> The European Space Agency Plato mission has successfully completed a series of tough tests under space\u2011like conditions. With this accomplishment, the spacecraft is on track to lift off in early 2027 and begin its search for terrestrial planets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Plato recently emerged from the Large Space Simulator (LSS) chamber at ESA\u2019s Test Centre, where the spacecraft made its first acquaintance with the rigours of space.<\/p>\n Within space projects, \u2018test as you fly\u2019 is every engineer\u2019s mantra. So before launching a spacecraft, it is crucial to check all its functionalities in the same conditions it will meet in orbit. To this end, Plato was placed inside the LSS.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Once the LSS chamber\u2019s top and side hatches were sealed, in early March, powerful pumps sucked air out of the enclosure, creating a vacuum a billion times sparser than standard atmospheric pressure. Meanwhile, liquid nitrogen pumped through the walls to reproduce the cold of space. A grid of powerful heating elements, specially placed inside the LSS, were switched on to mimic the heat of the Sun hitting Plato\u2019s solar panels and sunshield.<\/p>\n Then, testing began.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The mission\u2019s overarching goal is to discover potentially habitable, Earth-like planets around bright stars similar to the Sun. For this, the performance of Plato\u2019s 26 ultrasensitive cameras is crucial. To spot when a planet passes in front of its host star, they must capture the tiniest dips in the intensity of the star\u2019s light.<\/p>\n \u201cTo find and characterise Earth-like planets in orbit around Sun-like stars, we need to tease out variations in a star\u2019s luminosity smaller than 80 parts per million,\u201d explains Ana Heras, ESA\u2019s Plato Project Scientist.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch a high precision is very demanding, and these tests in space-like conditions are crucial. They allow us to verify that we can control the response of the cameras and the rest of the spacecraft systems to the level that we need for detecting small planets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe carried out dedicated tests to assess the correct functioning of Plato\u2019s cameras and the complete spacecraft in the thermal conditions that it will experience in its final orbit,\u201d adds Thomas Walloschek, ESA\u2019s Plato Project Manager.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sharpness of the cameras \u2013 their focus \u2013 is fine-tuned by adjusting the temperature of their optical tubes. So, we ran a series of tests to establish that we can maintain the cameras\u2019 optimal focus by controlling their temperatures with very high accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Engineers tested the entire spacecraft in typical space environment, as well as in so-called hot and cold phases. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the LSS, we stress-tested Plato by going to more extremes than the spacecraft will normally see in orbit,\u201d continues Thomas. \u201cWe want to verify that the spacecraft can do what we expect it to do in harsh as well as nominal space conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n During the hot phase, engineers ran all the spacecraft\u2019s elements on full power, while the solar-panel side warmed up to 150 \u00b0C. At the same time, they made sure that the cameras, protected by the sunshield and facing the cold part of the chamber, stayed between \u201370 and \u201390 \u00b0C.<\/p>\n For the cold phase, temperatures were lowered across the spacecraft, and its heaters had to be powered up to prevent the cameras becoming too cold.<\/p>\n The tests in a space-like environment have been completed, but the analysis of the data collected while Plato was inside the LSS will continue in the coming months.<\/p>\n Engineers and scientists will study the information gathered to learn more about the spacecraft\u2019s behaviour and the detailed performance of its instruments. They will use the data to improve thermal models that will be essential for predicting the cameras\u2019 responses in detail, once Plato is flying.<\/p>\n And this moment is getting closer. Plato is expected to be ready for launch by the end of this year. Lift-off on an Ariane 6 is planned by Arianespace for January 2027.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ESA\u2019s Plato (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars)\u00a0will use 26 cameras to study terrestrial exoplanets in orbits up to the habitable zone of Sun-like stars.<\/i><\/p>\n Plato’s scientific instrumentation, consisting of the cameras and electronic units, is provided through a collaboration between ESA and the\u00a0<\/i>Plato Mission Consortium<\/i>\u00a0composed of various European research centres, institutes and industries. The spacecraft is being built and assembled by the industrial Plato Core Team led by\u00a0<\/i>OHB<\/i>\u00a0together with\u00a0<\/i>Thales Alenia Space<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/i>Beyond Gravity<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n Plato is a\u00a0medium-class mission of\u00a0<\/i>ESA\u2019s Cosmic Vision programme<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n Find out more about\u00a0ESA Space Science\u00a0and\u00a0ESA\u2019s Science Programme.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nPlato\u2019s eye tests<\/h2>\n
Testing hot and cold<\/h2>\n
Notes for editors<\/h2>\n