SPACE MISSIONS
TESS – CHEOPS – PLATO – ARIEL
The participation in space missions is a key component of our broader research strategy to explore the connection between Earth and Earth-like planets.
We have consistently secured funding for research projects with all major exoplanet space missions, such as TESS, CHEOPS, PLATO and ARIEL, ensuring a holistic approach to exoplanet science.
By integrating space findings with our ongoing work on atmospheric characterization and the development of high-resolution spectrographs like ANDES for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), we are building a comprehensive roadmap for the discovery and study of habitable worlds. Our expertise in ground-based facilities, provides the technical backbone needed to support space mission’s goals.
TESS
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is a NASA mission designed to discover thousands of exoplanets orbiting the brightest and nearest stars in the sky. Launched on April 18, 2018, TESS is conducting the first-ever space-based all-sky transit survey
TESS builds on the legacy of NASA’s Kepler mission, but surveys an area of sky 400 times larger, focusing on bright stars which makes them ideal for detailed follow-up observations. Since beginning of regular science operations in July 2018, TESS has discovered more than 760 exoplanets and >7500 additional candidates, and it expected to continue delivering scientific discoveries for years to come, thanks to the various mission extensions. TESS discoveries span from Earth-size planets in Habitable Zone, to a remarkable variety of planetary system architectures, including planets in their initial state of life, circumbinary planets, planets in the process of being disintegrated by its star, etc. Additionally, it is providing numerous and optimal targets for atmospheric characterization with the JWST telescope
At IAC, we are part of the TESS Official Followup Program (TFOP) community, a world-wide effort to validate, follow-up and characterize TESS-discovered candidates. We provide both photometric follow-up through LCO and MuSCAT2, and we perform precise RV-characterization through state-of-art spectrographs (HARPS-N, HARPS, ESPESSO, CARMENES), leading to the discovery of an increasing number of new exoplanets leading to the discovery of an increasing number of new exciting systems, like TOI-912, TOI-283, TOI-771, TOI-406, Ross-176, and GJ 806, among many others.
CHEOPS
The CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) is the first mission dedicated to the characterization of transiting exoplanets by means of ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. By being able to point at nearly any location on the sky, it provides the unique capability of determining accurate radii for a selected sample of planets. CHEOPS was launched on 18 December 2019 as the ESA’s first “small-class” mission, as a result of a partnership between ESA and a consortium of 11 European countries led by Switzerland, and including Spain.
At IAC, we are active part of the CHEOPS Consortium, and we are especially involved in the precise characterization of sub-Neptunes with known masses, and the exploration of long-period planets only observable from space thanks to CHEOPS`s versatility, as well as contributing to coordinated ground-based observing campaigns, both in photometry and spectroscopy.
Among Key Science Highlights CHEOPS has provided detailed views of extreme gas giants. This includes mapping the atmospheric patterns of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-189 b and confirming the «rugby ball» shape of WASP-103 b, deformed by its star’s immense gravity. The mission has also advanced our knowledge of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes—planets with no solar system analogue. It shed light on rare harmonic orbits, such as in the TOI-178 system or in the HD 110067, where planets orbit in a perfectly synchronised rhythm despite having wildly different densities. More recently, CHEOPS helped identify a fourth planet in the LHS 1903 system, a rocky «latecomer» that challenges planetary formation theories.
CHEOPS has also detected exotic atmospheric phenomena. It discovered that the ultra-hot planet LTT-9779 b acts like a giant mirror in space. It also found the first hints of a «glory» effect on the hellish world WASP-76 b, an optical phenomenon previously only observed on Earth and Venus.
PLATO
The PLATO mission (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) represents a vital cornerstone of the ESA cosmic vision for the coming decade. Its primary scientific objective is to detect and characterize a vast number of extrasolar planetary systems, with a particular emphasis on identifying terrestrial planets orbiting in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars.
By observing planetary transits—the tiny dip in brightness that occurs as a planet passes in front of its host star—and simultaneously analyzing stellar oscillations, PLATO will allow the scientific community to determine the mass, radius, and age of these planets with unprecedented precision. According to current mission schedules, the launch is expected in early 2027, marking a critical milestone in our quest to understand the diversity of planetary systems across the galaxy.
Our research group plays a significant and specialized role within the PLATO consortium, drawing directly on our extensive experience with Kepler and TESS. Within the mission structure, we are the designated responsible entity for the Work Package (WP) on Ground-based High precision photometry. This responsibility is a natural extension of our group’s long-term expertise in managing global telescope networks and performing sophisticated ground-based follow-up for space missions. Our role involves coordinating the essential photometric observations from the ground that will validate the signals detected by the PLATO spacecraft and help distinguish true planetary transits from various forms of stellar activity or other astrophysical false positives. This work is essential to ensure that the planets identified by the mission are real and have well-determined properties before they are prioritized for more detailed study.
Ariel
ARIEL (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey) is an ESA‘s medium-class mission dedicated to answering fundamental questions about what exoplanets are made of, how they formed, and how they evolve . Adopted in November 2020, ARIEL is scheduled for launch in 2031
We are contributing to the scientific preparations for the ESA ARIEL mission, which will be the first space telescope dedicated specifically to performing a chemical census of a large and diverse sample of exoplanets. ARIEL will measure the chemical composition and thermal structures of hundreds of transiting exoplanets, conducting a 4-year survey of approximately 1000 exoplanets, ranging from super-Earths to gas giants.
The primary science objectives of the mission include:
- Determine the chemical composition of exoplanetary atmospheres
- Observe thermal structures and circulation patterns
- Study how planets form and evolve through atmospheric composition
At IAC, we are part of the ARIEL Consortium, Enric Palle is one of the Spanish co-PIs of the mission, and we are especially involved in the synergies with ground-based ELTs. We are also working in the definition of ARIEL capabilities in investigating the atmospheres of sub-Neptunes, to understand their composition and origin. Finally, we are also part of the ExoClock project, aiming at refining the planetary parameters for the selected targets before the lauch of the mission.
Main Projects
SPEAR
Exoplanet Atmospheres
Astrobiology
MuSCAT2
Space Missions
Collaborations
Deciphering the atmospheres of distant worlds
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