The CHEOPS Mission: A unique interface between discovery and characterisation of exoplanets

Séminaire de Willy Benz, Professeur à l’Université de Berne (Salle Coriolis)

Résumé / Abstract :

The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) was selected in 2012 as the first small mission (S-mission) in the ESA Science Programme and successfully launched within schedule and budget on December 18, 2020 on a Soyouz-Fregat rocket from Kourou, French Guyana. CHEOPS is the first mission dedicated to search for exoplanet transits by means of ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. After a description of the mission and of its characteristics, the talk will highlight some scientific results and the special interface role played by CHEOPS.