PLATO payload module
PLATO payload module
ESA’s PLATO mission will realise a new concept for a space telescope system. A total of 26 individual cameras will be installed on the instrument platform to search for Earth-like planets during a survey of the Milky Way starting in 2026. The idea of simultaneously scanning the galaxy with so many cameras takes into account the different brightness of the hundreds of thousands of stars that will be observed. This image shows the PLATO payload module in the clean room at industrial partner OHB in Bremen with 16 of 26 cameras installed. Each camera has a field of view of 1100 square degrees and records observations from a total of 104 sensors with 4510 by 4510 pixels (four sensors per camera). The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is developing parts of the scientific payload and will participate in mission operations.
