Exoplanet Survey Satellite

Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Name	Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Mission type	Astrophysics, Exoplanet detection
Operator	NASA
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences Corporation
Launch mass	364 kg
Power	~200 W
Launch date	2018-04-18
Launch vehicle	Falcon 9
Launch site	Cape Canaveral
Orbit	High Earth elliptical orbit (2:1 resonance with Moon)

Exoplanet Survey Satellite is a NASA Explorer-class space telescope designed to perform an all-sky survey to detect transiting exoplanets around the nearest and brightest stars. It conducts wide-field photometric monitoring to identify small planets amenable to follow-up characterization by facilities such as James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Ground-based observatories, and instruments on European Southern Observatory platforms. The mission complements previous missions including Kepler space telescope, K2 mission, and predecessors in the Extrasolar planet search community.

Mission overview

The mission was selected under the Explorer program administered by NASA and builds on heritage from projects involving Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Orbital Sciences Corporation, and teams from Harvard University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and University of California, Berkeley. Designed to survey nearly the entire sky, the spacecraft employs four wide-field cameras to monitor sectors tied to ecliptic coordinates, coordinating seasonal observing sequences with support from ground-based networks such as Las Cumbres Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and Mauna Kea Observatories. The mission supports exoplanet demographics studies that interface with theoretical work from groups at Caltech, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

Spacecraft design

The satellite platform was constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporation using bus elements and avionics derived from prior small-satellite missions, integrating guidance, navigation, and control systems developed with partners at Aerospace Corporation and testing at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Power, thermal control, and attitude control subsystems use components qualified through flight heritage with programs such as ICESat-2 and NuSTAR. The structural design accommodates four identical camera assemblies, with pointing constrained by operations planned in relation to the Moon and coordinated through NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA Kennedy Space Center launch operations.

Payload and instruments

The payload comprises four identical wide-field CCD camera assemblies developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with teams at MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, each with refractive optics and bandpass filters tuned to optical wavelengths used for transit photometry. Detectors are radiation-tolerant CCD arrays packaged with electronics influenced by designs from Ball Aerospace and tested at facilities including Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Onboard data handling and storage are integrated with flight software developed alongside specialists from Aerospace Corporation and University of Colorado Boulder instrument teams.

Operations and data processing

Mission operations are coordinated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MIT Lincoln Laboratory with assistance from mission operations centers at MIT Center for Space Research and communications scheduled through ground stations in networks including Deep Space Network asset use coordination and commercial ground stations at Svalbard Satellite Station. Data processing pipelines were developed drawing on heritage from Kepler space telescope and K2 mission pipelines, with science processing performed by teams at NASA Ames Research Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, STScI, and community archives at Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. Data products are released in tiers enabling follow-up proposals to observatories such as Space Telescope Science Institute, European Southern Observatory, and national facilities in Australia, Chile, and South Africa.

Scientific results

The mission has delivered catalogs of transiting planet candidates and validated planets spanning hosts from spectral classes monitored by surveys tied to observatories such as Keck Observatory, Subaru Telescope, Very Large Telescope, and Arecibo Observatory legacy data analyses. Results have refined occurrence rates first inferred from Kepler space telescope surveys, informed target lists for James Webb Space Telescope atmospheric characterization, and produced discoveries of multi-planet systems that engaged theoretical interpretation groups at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, University of Chicago, and University of Toronto. Ancillary science has included variable-star catalogs, solar-system object detections cross-matched with Minor Planet Center records, and transient identifications coordinated with time-domain facilities like Zwicky Transient Facility and Pan-STARRS.

Mission history and timeline

The mission concept emerged from community white papers and competition within the NASA Explorer program framework, advancing through selection milestones that included review panels at NASA Headquarters and flight approval by directorates at NASA Johnson Space Center. The spacecraft was launched on a Falcon 9 booster by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and injected into an initial orbit that evolved into a stable high Earth elliptic resonance through lunar gravity assists coordinated with teams at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Post-launch commissioning involved instrument calibration campaigns with participating institutions such as MIT, Harvard, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Collaborations and funding

The mission is a partnership led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology with substantial contributions from MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and funded by NASA under the Explorer program with additional in-kind and cooperative agreements involving institutions including Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, SpaceX as launch services provider, and international collaborators from agencies like Canadian Space Agency and research institutions in United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Scientific follow-up and archival research involve broad community participation from universities and observatories including Caltech, University of Oxford, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, INAF, and national facilities supported through competitive proposal calls.

Category:NASA spacecraft Category:Exoplanet missions