Back EChO (nau espacial) Catalan Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory French Exoplanet Characterization Observatory Italian Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory Russian 系外行星特征观测台 Chinese
| Mission type | Astronomy |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| Website | sci.esa.int/echo |
| Mission duration | 4–5 years[1][2] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 2,100 kg (4,600 lb)[3] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2024[1] |
| Rocket | Soyuz STA/Fregat[2] |
| Launch site | Kourou ELS[3] |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Sun–Earth L2[2][3] |
| Regime | Halo or Lissajous |
| Epoch | planned |
| Main telescope | |
| Type | Cassegrain[2] |
| Diameter | 1.4 m (4.6 ft)[2] |
| Focal length | 2 m (6.6 ft)[2] |
| Collecting area | 14 m2 (150 sq ft)[2] |
| Wavelengths | from 0.55 μm (orange) to 11μm (long-infrared) (goal: 0.4 to 16 μm)[1][2] |
The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) was a proposed space telescope[2] as part of the Cosmic Vision roadmap of the European Space Agency, and competed with four other missions for the M3 slot in the programme. On 19 February 2014 the PLATO mission was selected in place of the other candidates in the programme, including EChO.[4]
EChO would have been the first dedicated mission to investigate exoplanetary atmospheres, addressing the suitability of those planets for life and placing the Solar System in context. EChO was intended to provide high resolution, multi-wavelength spectroscopic observations. It would have measured the atmospheric composition, temperature and albedo of a representative sample of known exoplanets, constrain models of their internal structure and improve understanding of how planets form and evolve.[5] It would have orbited around the L2 Lagrange point, 1.5 million km from Earth in the anti-sunward direction.
- ^ a b c "EChO mission summary". EChO website. ESA. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Tinetti, G.; Beaulieu, J. P.; Henning, T.; Meyer, M.; Micela, G.; Ribas, I.; Stam, D.; Swain, M.; Krause, O.; Ollivier, M.; Pace, E.; Swinyard, B.; Aylward, A.; Boekel, R.; Coradini, A.; Encrenaz, T.; Snellen, I.; Zapatero-Osorio, M. R.; Bouwman, J.; Cho, J. Y. K.; Coudé De Foresto, V.; Guillot, T.; Lopez-Morales, M.; Mueller-Wodarg, I.; Palle, E.; Selsis, F.; Sozzetti, A.; Ade, P. A. R.; Achilleos, N.; et al. (2012). "EChO - Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory" (PDF). Experimental Astronomy. 34 (2): 311. arXiv:1112.2728. Bibcode:2012ExA....34..311T. doi:10.1007/s10686-012-9303-4. S2CID 118578814. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
- ^ a b c "EChO spacecraft". EChO website. ESA. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ "ESA selects planet-hunting PLATO mission". ESA. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Tinetti, G.; Cho, J. Y. K.; Griffith, C. A.; Grasset, O.; Grenfell, L.; Guillot, T.; Koskinen, T. T.; Moses, J. I.; Pinfield, D.; Tennyson, J.; Tessenyi, M.; Wordsworth, R.; Aylward, A.; Van Boekel, R.; Coradini, A.; Encrenaz, T.; Snellen, I.; Zapatero-Osorio, M. R.; Bouwman, J.; Du Foresto, V. C.; Lopez-Morales, M.; Mueller-Wodarg, I.; Pallé, E.; Selsis, F.; Sozzetti, A.; Beaulieu, J. P.; Henning, T.; Meyer, M.; Micela, G.; et al. (2011). "The science of EChO" (PDF). Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. 6: 359–370. Bibcode:2011IAUS..276..359T. doi:10.1017/S1743921311020448.