Mas Hesse, J. M., Urqui O´Callaghan, R., Suárez, J. C., Deeg, H. J., Balado, A. 2015. The PLATO 2.0 mission. Spanish contribution. Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VIII, Proceedings of the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (8-12 de septiembre de 2014, Teruel), 755-763
The PLATO 2.0 space mission (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillation of stars) was selected by the ESA Science Programme in February 2014, as the M3 mission to be launched in 2024. PLATO 2.0 will detect terrestrial exoplanets in the habitable zone of bright solar-type stars and characterise their bulk properties. The exoplanets will be detected by the weak eclipses they produce when transiting in front of their parent star, while the long uninterrupted observations will allow also to analyze the oscillations of these stars, yielding their internal structure and evolutionary state. The stellar sample targeted by PLATO is bright enough (V<11.5) to be able to confirm the planets candidates using radial velocity spectroscopy from ground, providing so a complete characterization of the exoplanetary systems. Spain will contribute to the PLATO 2.0 instrument by providing the Focal Plane Assemblies of its 34 telescopes, as well as the Main Electronics Units which will perform onboard and in real time the photometric extraction of the stellar lightcurves.
