Summary
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EChO |
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| Themes | What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life? |
| Primary goal | To characterise the atmospheres of a diverse sample of nearby transiting exoplanets, including super Earths |
| Targets | A sample of transiting exoplanets orbiting nearby F, G, K and M-type stars, covering a range of temperatures (250 Kelvin < T_equilibrium < a few 1000 Kelvin) and masses (few to 100s of Earth masses) |
| Wavelength | Visible - thermal infrared (0.55 – 11 microns, with a goal to extend to 0.4 - 16 microns) |
| Telescope | 1 metre class |
| Orbit | Quasi halo orbit around the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, L2 |
| Lifetime | 4 years |
| Type | M-class candidate mission |
Mission Timeline
- 2024: Targeted launch date
- February 2014: PLATO was selected as M3 - the third medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision Programme
- 2013: Under assessment - decision from Science Programme Committee (SPC) expected by February 2014
- February 2013: Science payload consortium selected
- October 2011: Invitation to Tender issued to industry
- September 2011: Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) study performed
- February 2011: EChO is one of four missions selected for further study
- 2010: Proposed as an M-Class mission in response to Call for Proposals
Last Update: 1 September 2019