On May 1, 2026, the Financial Times reported that the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) space telescope has successfully passed critical thermal vacuum testing, marking a significant milestone toward its planned 2027 launch.

According to ESA, the PLATO telescope completed rigorous testing simulating space conditions at OHB System’s facility in Bremen, Germany. During the thermal vacuum campaign, the instrument was subjected to extreme temperature variations and vacuum conditions to verify its reliability and performance in the space environment.

PLATO is a cornerstone mission of ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme, designed to search for Earth-sized rocky exoplanets using the transit method. Unlike existing missions such as Kepler and TESS, PLATO will focus on habitable-zone planets orbiting Sun-like stars and will be capable of precisely measuring their masses and ages.

Scientists say PLATO will be equipped with 26 high-precision telescopes capable of simultaneously monitoring large areas of the sky, and is expected to discover hundreds of Earth-like planets. These findings will lay the groundwork for future searches for signs of extraterrestrial life.

The Financial Times analysis noted that as global investment in space exploration and deep-space observation continues to grow, the “search for Earth 2.0” has become one of the most publicly compelling goals in space science. PLATO’s progress also reflects Europe’s sustained commitment and technical capabilities in space science.

PLATO is scheduled to launch in 2027 aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, with a planned mission lifetime of at least six years.

Source: Financial Times, European Space Agency