Ariane 62 | PLATO
Launch information
Favourite EmbedMission description
Plato, for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with 26 cameras to study terrestrial exoplanets in orbits up to the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. Its goal is to measure the sizes of exoplanets and discover exomoons and rings around them, as well as characterise planets' host stars by studying tiny light variations in the starlight it receives.
Launch status
Launch status information for space mission ‘Ariane 62 | PLATO’.
TBD
Status: To Be Determined
Class: normal
Launch T0: Dec. 31, 2026, midnight
Timezone: America/Cayenne
Launch authority
Details about the the rocket, its target orbit and the launch pad location.
Mission |
PLATO (L2) |
|---|---|
Launcher |
Arianespace |
Rocket |
Ariane 62 |
Location |
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana |
Pad |
Ariane Launch Area 4 |
Type |
Astrophysics |
Orbit |
Sun-Earth L2 (L2) |
Satellites on-board
Tracking of on-board satellites will be available after the rocket launch date (Dec. 31, 2026).
Launch statistics
Launch statistics will be available after the rocket launch date (Dec. 31, 2026).
Latest news about the launch
News about the space mission ‘Ariane 62 | PLATO’ are fetched daily from the best sources online.
Completed Plato spacecraft is ready for final tests
By fitting its sunshield and solar panels, engineers have completed the construction of Plato, the European Space Agency’s mission to discover Earth-like exoplanets. Plato is on track for the final key tests to confirm that it is fit for launch.
Plato arrived at ESA’s test centre by boat
The European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft has safely arrived at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. There, engineers will complete the spacecraft by connecting its solar panels and sunshield, and carry out a series of critical tests to con...
Plato’s eyes meet brain
On 11 June, engineers at OHB’s facilities in Germany joined together the two main parts of ESA’s Plato mission.
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