The mission is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 6 in December 2026.
PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), European Space Agency - ESA's flagship mission dedicated to the detection and observation of exoplanets, has reached a new milestone. Our teams have successfully completed the integration and testing of the sunshield solar array subsystem in our clean rooms in Cannes, as well as the acoustic testing sequence under the supervision of Beyond Gravity. This key subsystem has been shipped to ESA’s ESTEC Test Center in the Netherlands, where it will be integrated into the PLATO spacecraft by OHB SE, the program's prime contractor, in September 2025.With its 26 cameras, PLATO is set to identify and characterize planetary systems similar to our own solar system, targeting in particular those with planets located in the habitability zone of their host star, where water can exist in liquid form on the surface. PLATO will thus deepen our understanding of stars and the evolution of entire planetary systems.
Oct 10, 2025The European Space Agency's Plato spacecraft has been fully assembled in a cleanroom at ESA's Test Centre in the Netherlands. Credit: ESA – Rowan Moorkens O'Reilly (ATG Europe)
In October 2025, engineers fitted the sunshield and solar panels, completing the construction of @ESA_Plato.The mission is on track for the final key tests to confirm that it is fit for launch on an Ariane 6, in December 2026.
[02:28] "The planned launch date is between January and March 2027 with ESA's PLATO satellite. Being launched with PLATO has shortened all the schedules."
The European Space Agency’s upcoming Henon mission will be the first ever CubeSat to independently venture into deep space, communicate with Earth and manoeuvre to its final destination without relying on a bigger spacecraft. Once in its orbit around the Sun, the carry-on luggage-sized CubeSat will observe the Sun’s emissions to demonstrate technologies capable of providing advanced warnings of solar storms hours before they reach Earth.
Engineers placed Plato in the LSS on 18 February, and since beginning of March the spacecraft has been experiencing the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space. This photo captures the satellite standing in the centre of the simulator, moments before the door of the chamber was hermetically closed.The picture was taken from the top opening of the LSS and gives us a direct view of Plato’s 26 ultrasensitive cameras. These are the special eyes that the mission will use to monitor more than 150 000 bright stars at the same time, hunting for terrestrial planets orbiting Sun-like stars.The mission is expected to be ready for launch by the end of the year. Lift-off on an Ariane 6 is planned by Arianespace for January 2027.But before launching a spacecraft, it is crucial to operate it and check all its functionalities in a space-like environment. The LSS offers just that.A cylindrical container standing 15m high and 10m wide, the LSS is Europe's largest cryovacuum chamber. Equipped with a high-performance pump, the enclosure achieves a pressure a billion times lower than the sea-level atmosphere, while liquid nitrogen circulating around its casing reproduces the cryogenic temperatures of space.Exposed to a grid of powerful heating elements (so-called ‘calrods’) that simulate the heat of the Sun, the spacecraft’s backside – with solar panels and sunshield – reaches a toasty 160°C. At the same time, thanks to the sunshield and excellent insulation, the cameras and the optical bench facing the dark, cold part of the chamber are kept very cool at around–80°C, as if facing deep space.Plato will reemerge from the space simulator at the end of March.
