The CHEOPS Mission: A unique interface between discovery and characterisation of exoplanets

Dr. Willy Benz
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) and University of Bern

The Characterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) was selected as the first Small Mission (S-Mission) in the Science Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2012. It was successfully launched on time and within budget on 18 December 2020, aboard a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Kourou in French Guiana. The ESA has approved a second three-year mission extension starting in 2026.
CHEOPS is the first mission dedicated to the search for exoplanet transits using ultra-high precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. Following planets with high-precision photometry improves measurements of planetary properties such as radii, masses (via TTVs) and even shapes, and allows precise transit ephemeris to be defined, especially for small bodies. It also often leads to refinement of the overall architecture of the systems (e.g. discovery of new planets). Similarly, the measurement of occultations and phase curves to a precision of a few parts per million has opened a new window on the study of the atmospheres of hot planets. Because of its agility and its ability to observe a large fraction of the sky, CHEOPS provides a unique interface between the discovery (e.g. TESS) of exoplanets and their further spectroscopic characterisation by large space-based (e.g. JWST & ARIEL) or ground-based (e.g. VLT & ELT) facilities.

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