ESA Science & Technology - PLATO animation - 360 degree view

Animation of ESA's PLATO spacecraft, showing different elements such as the payload of 26 cameras, the sunshield and solar panels.

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.