Abstract
The Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS) was selected on October 19, 2012, as the first small mission (S-mission) in the ESA Science Programme. CHEOPS will be the first mission dedicated to the search for transits of exoplanets by means of ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. It will provide the unique capability of determining accurate radii for a subset of those planets for which the mass has already been estimated from ground-based spectroscopic surveys. It will also provide precise radii for new planets discovered by the next generation of ground- or space-based transit surveys (Neptune-size and smaller). By unveiling transiting exoplanets with high potential for in-depth characterization, CHEOPS will also provide prime targets for future instruments suited to the spectroscopic characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres.
To reach these goals, CHEOPS will measure photometric signals with a precision of 20 ppm over 6 h for a magnitude 9 star in the V band. This precision will be achieved by using a single-frame transfer, back-side illuminated CCD detector located in the focal plane assembly of a 33-cm diameter on-axis telescope. The optical design is based on a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope that produces a defocused image of the target star while minimizing the stray light contamination with a dedicated field stop and a baffling system. The spacecraft (280 kg) will be launched as a secondary passenger on a Soyuz rocket from Kourou into a 700 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit and will have a nominal operational lifetime of 3.5 years.
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Benz, W., Ehrenreich, D., Isaak, K. (2018). CHEOPS: CHaracterizing ExOPlanets Satellite. In: Deeg, H., Belmonte, J. (eds) Handbook of Exoplanets . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55333-7_84
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55333-7_84
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