European Space Agency Picks Plato Planet-hunting Mission

kc123 writes "A telescope to find worlds around other stars has been selected for launch by the European Space Agency's Science Policy Committee. Known as Plato (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), the mission should launch on a Soyuz rocket in 2024. The Plato space telescope will prepare the way for scientists searching for alien life by locating the first genuinely Earth-like exoplanets orbiting nearby stars. It will break new ground in astronomy by using a "bug eye" array of 34 individual telescopes. The intention is for this array to sweep about half the sky, to investigate some of its brightest and nearest stars."

ESA page

[Sven-Erik]

Here [esa.int] is the ESA Plato page.

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[Ironlenny]

I thought the title read "European Space Agency Picks Pluto Planet-hunting Mission". My first thought was "They already found it!"

Next they'll pick a peck of peppers

[Anonymous Coward]

Hooray for alliteration!

Plato planet-hunter and star probe

[DeTech]

The telescope array was all but a shoe in... But I like where we are heading, more eyes watching the sky is a good thing.

I don't get it

[slashmydots]

So we can look at planets and count them and what out with a huge degree of error what is in their atmosphere. Wouldn't the money be better spent on warping spacetime research, fusion, ion thrusters, human stasis, anti-radiation shielding, and artificial gravity?

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[rubycodez]

more to the point, exactly one is possible (ion thrusters are already used) and a viable fusion reactor may or may not be possible

the rest may as well be wish for pink unicorn that can piss five flavors of fruit juice and shits jelly beans

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[slashmydots]

I can't believe this was replied to by complete idiots. Space and time is bent around a black hole, we already know how and why it happens, and can measure it. So that's not scifi. Human stasis is as simple as can be and we're more than halfway there. Anti-radiation shielding exists in nuclear power plants and hospitals already. Actively powered ones have been made in labs already. Also there's one around the Earth that works just fine. Artificial gravity is theoretically possible, as proven recently

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[Anonymous Coward]

It's pretty clear you don't get it. Why not spend money on flying carpets, astral projection, witch's brooms, and levitation? Just because the words you use are in "science" fiction movies doesn't make them real. They're just fantasies and wishes under another name.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[Electricity Likes Me]

NASA has a department of Warp Field Mechanics already.

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[Electricity Likes Me]

It's about the level of commitment appropriate for a very high stakes, difficult to prove idea that's a long shot.

Pato's Cave

[Da Cheez]

With a name like Plato, I worry it won't see much other than shadows when searching for stars....

Sick of these forced Acronyms

[Anonymous Coward]

I get it.
Plato was a dude that did stuff a few years back and you want to honor him by using his name for your shiney new space toy.
Really, all you're doing is weakening the name of your thing by naming it after another unrelated thing. I can't talk about "Plato" the telescope and not have people confuse it with Plato the philosopher.

PTOS is a perfectly fine acronym.

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[careysub]

... I can't talk about "Plato" the telescope and not have people confuse it with Plato the philosopher.

Easily fixed. Just have everyone start calling him by what the Classical Greeks actually called the philosopher, which was "Platon" (not "Plato"). Either that or start calling him by his birth-name Aristocles.

So long?

[bulletman]

I'm very glad the project is going forward. But, 10 years?! I have to think the turnaround time could be improved with a little effort, imagination, and courage.

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[bobbied]

I'm very glad the project is going forward. But, 10 years?! I have to think the turnaround time could be improved with a little effort, imagination, and courage.

You must be a project manager who doesn't work on government projects. Come on, this is the EU we are talking about. It's going to take them at least half that time to be on holiday.

why Soyuz?

[WindBourne]

that is now expensive and has had issues.
It seems like the smart one might be to wait a bit longer and see what else is cheaper, bigger, better.

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[hackertourist]

It's an ESA project, for political reasons this will use an ESA launcher. They added a Soyuz launchpad to the Kourou spaceport a few years ago to expand their launcher portfolio on the low end.

Good. There's no such thing as too many planet ...

[Ihlosi]

... hunting missions. Can't wait for the next couple of thousand exoplanet discoveries!