Centuries ago, the great philosopher Plato imagined a distant world similar to ours, the hyperuranium, where the world of ideas represented the original of our world of things.
Perhaps this is why Plato has been named Plato (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), the new European mission that searches for planets similar to Earth and therefore more likely to harbour life.
We are referring to planets that are similar in size and mass to our planet and are located at a distance from their star that allows them to have liquid water on their surface.
The satellite, scheduled for launch in December 2026 on an Ariane 6.2 rocket, has just received five of its 26 eyes and is being built in France and Germany, while the optical units are being manufactured in Italy by Leonardo in Campi Bisenzio (Florence) under the coordination of the Italian Space Agency and the supervision of the National Institute of Astrophysics, with the collaboration of the University of Bern, Thales Alenia Space and Medialario.
“This mission is the result of collaboration between ESA and the Plato consortium,’ said ESA mission manager Thomas Wallonschek, referring to the vast collaboration led by the German company OHB, with Thales Alenia Space and the Swiss company Beyond Gravity, and involving researchers from 23 countries. Italy is participating with INAF, ASI and the Universities of Padua, Turin, Federico II of Naples and the International School of Advanced Studies in Trieste.
It will take time, but never before in European history has such a technological mission aimed to discover extraterrestrial life: good luck, Plato!
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