Plato, ESA's planet-hunting spacecraft undergoes vacuum test to evaluate endurance

A test version of the payload module of the European Space Agency's next-generation exoplanet hunter, Plato (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), recently underwent vacuum testing.

According to the agency, this initial 'structural and thermal model' of Plato's optical bench was built specifically for testing in space-like conditions. The test was conducted to evaluate its endurance of space conditions - how it responds to the in orbit temperature variations, and 'thermal balance' to measure the operating temperature that it maintains in these conditions.

The testing took place inside ESA's Large Space Simulator in March-end and was successfully completed in the third week of May.

A test version of the payload module of the #exoplanet-detecting @esa #Plato spacecraft underwent a prolonged vacuum soak within Europe's largest thermal vacuum chamber, to evaluate its endurance of space conditions 👉 https://t.co/SPhrEHr8E4 #ExploreFarther pic.twitter.com/T9IAYYI8y6

— ESA Science (@esascience) June 1, 2022

Plato is made of the payload module that hosts 26 cameras that detect visible light and the service module that contains all the systems necessary to operate the spacecraft.

Using an array of 26 telescope cameras, Plato will observe and characterise terrestrial planets in orbits up to the habitable zone - the region around a star where the temperature is just right for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface - of Sun-like stars.

The mission, currently planned for launch at the end of 2026, will travel to Lagrange point 2 (L2) in space, 1.5 million km from the Earth in the direction away from the Sun, from where the observatory will keep an eye on 200,000+ stars - searching for tiny and regular dips in brightness as their planets transit in front of them.

Plato will also investigate seismic activity in the stars, enabling scientists to precisely characterise the planet host star, including its age.