Spain launches first exoplanet-study spacecraft
The CHEOPS mission corresponds to a project of the European Space Agency (ESA) framed in the Cosmic Vision program focused on the investigation of exoplanets
CHEOPS is the acronym for CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite and is the first international space mission directed from Spain. The launching was possible after the country won in 2014 the contract of 25 million euros of Airbus Defense and Space.
CHEOPS is expected to arrive in space and have an already established agenda to make the most of the time from the moment it is launched.
CHEOPS measures about one and a half meters long, tall and wide. The platform was fully developed by Airbus DS Spain. However, the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope that it incorporates was conceived and manufactured in Switzerland.
The purpose of the research is to bring a highly sensitive photometer to the space to measure the light that is produced in other planetary systems. This will allow to determine the size of the exoplanets, their density and composition.
L.Sáenz
Source: Xataka
