ESA Science & Technology - Publication Archive

Download this interactive media kit to learn more about the launch of CHEOPS on 17 December 2019 and the science goals of the mission. CHEOPS, the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite, is ESA's first mission dedicated to the study of exoplanets. It will observe bright stars that are already known to host planets, measuring minuscule brightness changes due to the planet's transit across the star's disc.

Update 20 Dec: A new version of the media kit was released containing the updated launch date, 18 December 2019, on p3 and p18. A typo was also corrected on p17.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Event programme
• Key messages
• CHEOPS science themes
• CHEOPS: an exoplanet follow-up mission
• Exoplanet detection methods
• Exoplanets discoveries
• Examples of planetary systems
• Characterising exoplanets with CHEOPS
• CHEOPS observing programmes
• What are exoplanets made of?
• Open questions: How do planets form?
• Open questions: How do planets evolve?
• High photometric stability and precision
• Where is CHEOPS?
• Launch details and timeline
• CHEOPS team and consortium
• Selected images
• Selected videos
• Media services

To download the pdf file (25 MB) click on the image or on the link to publication below.

CHEOPS is ESA's CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite. It is the first mission dedicated to studying bright, nearby stars that are already known to host exoplanets, in order to make high-precision observations of the planet's size as it passes in front of its host star. It will focus on planets in the super-Earth to Neptune size range, with its data enabling the bulk density of the planets to be derived – a first-step characterisation towards understanding these alien worlds.

Contents

• Why exoplanets
• Enter CHEOPS
• How CHEOPS will characterise exoplanets
• Designing a planet watcher
• A European collaboration
• Welcome onboard!

Print out and build a paper model of CHEOPS, the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite.

CHEOPS is a space science mission dedicated to the study of known exoplanets orbiting bright, nearby stars. It will use the technique of ultra-high precision photometry to measure accurate sizes of a large sample of Earth to Neptune-sized planets. By combining the accurate sizes determined by CHEOPS with existing mass measurements, it will be possible to establish the bulk density and composition of the planets; these, together with information on the host stars and the planets' orbits will be used to determine the planets' formation and evolutionary history.

CHEOPS is a small satellite with a total launch mass of approximately 300 kg and dimensions of 1.55m (height) × 1.49m (width, measured from solar array edge to edge) × 1.4m (depth).

The dark colours used in this paper model are representative of the true colours of the various spacecraft components. The paper model's scale is 1:15 when printed on DIN A4 paper.

CHEOPS is a partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland.

Reference: SPC(2013)33 The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a Small mission in the ESA Science Programme to be implemented in partnership with Switzerland, and with a number of Member States delivering significant contributions. These Member States are Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, and UK, and will cooperate under a Swiss led CHEOPS Mission Consortium (CMC). The Science Management Plan (SMP) defines the top-level science management principles and organisation of the mission. It identifies roles and duties of ESA, the CMC, and the scientific community at large. The document provides an overview of the mission science objectives and a high-level description of the operations and processes that will be established to generate the outlined scientific data products. The SMP addresses the data rights policy, and the distribution of responsibilities for public outreach and communication.

Reference: ESA/SRE(2013)7

This Definition Study Report (also known as the Red Book) presents the outcome of the CHEOPS Definition study. It describes the resulting mission concept that will fulfil the mission science requirements, and therefore allow us to achieve the science objectives presented in the original proposal, and further detailed and elaborated in this document.