The PLATO mission
PLATO (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is ESA’s third medium-class mission under Cosmic Vision 2015–2025. Lifting off aboard an Ariane 6 in late 2026, it will stare from the Sun–Earth L2 point at more than 200 000 Sun-like stars, recording their brightness with 26 synchronised cameras. Minute, periodic dips in these light curves will reveal new exoplanets -- especially Earth-sized worlds in the habitable zone -- while subtle stellar oscillations in the same data will pin down each host star’s size and age. Follow-up radial-velocity and transit-timing studies from ground-based observatories will add planetary masses, enabling the calculation of densities, irradiation levels and system architectures. The resulting open catalogue will anchor future searches for planets that could sustain life.