The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a satellite that would study planets beyond the bounds of our solar system. The satellite which was named 'Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite' (CHEOPS) was taken into orbit by a Russian Soyuz rocket from Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.
CHEOPS, which is a joint effort of 11 European Space Agency (ESA) member states and led by Switzerland was launched to study "exoplanets" or planets outside our solar system. It will also follow up on previous missions and aims to reveal discoveries that would help us better understand the distant worlds.
The satellite was successfully deployed into Earth 2.5 hours after liftoff. It will orbit around Earth and will measure the density, composition, and size of various exoplanets.
Prof. Didier Queloz, the winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, was one of those who oversaw the launch. He and his colleague were the first to identify the first exoplanet in 1995.
"We started this project more than 10 years ago and now that's it - we're in the sky," said the head of the project. The mission also "represents a step towards better understanding the astrophysics of all these strange planets that we have discovered" Queloz added.
European Space Agency (ESA) is also interested in profiling the objects in a more precise way. The satellite will be using a "transit method" allowing the agency to "measure the quantity of light reflected from the planet" that will in return give them a deeper understanding of the habitability of a planet, density, atmosphere, and generally the geophysics of a planet.
The satellite will be observing 400 to 500 exoplanets over the next 3 and a half years. It will be using an optical system that is capable of measuring light changes.
CHEOPS has already made contact with the European Space Agency's Antarctic ground station, which means everything is going as planned. The Russian Soyuz rocket also carried other research satellites to be used by the agency.