PLATO

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Earth L2
Mission: Astrophysics

Sun-Earth L2 Ariane Launch Area 4 Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

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.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Jan. 15, 2026, 2:46 p.m.

NET January 2027.



Nosu • Jan. 30, 2025, 9:49 a.m.

Adding launch NET late 2026


Ariane 62

Family:
Configuration: 62

The Ariane 6 family is currently under development by the European Space Agency, with two variations including the Ariane 62 with two solid boosters intended for government and scientific missions.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    63.0 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    530.0 T
  • Thrust
    10370.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Ariane 62
  • Family
  • Variant
    62
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Ariane 62
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $85000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    10900.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    5100.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    6450.0 kg

ArianeGroup

ArianeGroup

(AG)

CEO: Martin Sion Founded: 2015 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aerospace, defence and security.

INFO WIKI

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Plato passes vibe check

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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 l…

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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 criti…

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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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Plato’s dialogue

From the ESA Blogs.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

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