Artist's impression of PLATO
![](https://cdn.sci.esa.int/documents/33240/35301/PLATO_artist_impression_20191105_5_625.jpg)
Date: 21 November 2019
Satellite: PLATO
Copyright: ESA/ATG medialab
Artist's impression of ESA's PLATO spacecraft.
PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) is the third medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme. Its objective is to find and study a large number of extrasolar planetary systems, with emphasis on the properties of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars. PLATO has also been designed to investigate seismic activity in stars, enabling the precise characterisation of the planet's host star, including its age.
Last Update: 21 November 2019