CHEOPS in-flight performance: A comprehensive look at the first 3.5 yr of operations
Journal article, 2024
Context. Since the discovery of the first exoplanet almost three decades ago, the number of known exoplanets has increased dramatically. By beginning of the 2000s it was clear that dedicated facilities to advance our studies in this field were needed. The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a space telescope specifically designed to monitor transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. In September 2023, CHEOPS completed its nominal mission duration of 3.5 yr and remains in excellent operational conditions. As a testament to this, the mission has been extended until the end of 2026. Aims. Scientific and instrumental data have been collected throughout in-orbit commissioning and nominal operations, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the missiona's performance. In this article, we present the results of this analysis with a twofold goal. First, we aim to inform the scientific community about the present status of the mission and what can be expected as the instrument ages. Secondly, we intend for this publication to serve as a legacy document for future missions, providing insights and lessons learned from the successful operation of CHEOPS. Methods. To evaluate the instrument performance in flight, we developed a comprehensive monitoring and characterisation (M&C) programme. It consists of dedicated observations that allow us to characterise the instrumenta's response and continuously monitor its behaviour. In addition to the standard collection of nominal science and housekeeping data, these observations provide valuable input for detecting, modelling, and correcting instrument systematics, discovering and addressing anomalies, and comparing the instrumenta's actual performance with expectations. Results. The precision of the CHEOPS measurements has enabled the mission objectives to be met and exceeded. The satellitea's performance remains stable and reliable, ensuring accurate data collection throughout its operational life. Careful modelling of the instrumental systematics allows the data quality to be significantly improved during the light curve analysis phase, resulting in more precise scientific measurements. Conclusions. CHEOPS is compliant with the driving scientific requirements of the mission. Although visible, the ageing of the instrument has not affected the missiona's performance. The satellitea's capabilities remain robust, and we are confident that we will continue to acquire high-quality data during the mission extension.
Techniques: photometric
Space vehicles: instruments
Telescopes
Planets and satellites: Terrestrial planets
Planets and satellites: detection
Author
A. Fortier
University of Bern
A.E. Simon
University of Bern
C. Broeg
University of Bern
G. Olofsson
Stockholm University
A. Deline
University of Geneva
T.G. Wilson
The University of Warwick
P. Maxted
Keele University
A. Brandeker
Stockholm University
A. Collier Cameron
University of St Andrews
M. Beck
University of Geneva
A. Bekkelien
University of Geneva
N. Billot
University of Geneva
A. Bonfanti
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
G. Bruno
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
J. Cabrera
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
L. Delrez
University of Liège
B.O. Demory
University of Bern
D. Futyan
University of Geneva
H.-G. Florén
Stockholm University
Maximilian N. Günther
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
A. Heitzmann
University of Geneva
S. Hoyer
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
K. Isaak
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
S.G. Sousa
University of Porto
M. Stalport
University of Liège
A. Turin
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
P. Verhoeve
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
B. Akinsanmi
University of Geneva
Y. Alibert
University of Bern
R. Alonso
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
D. Bánhidi
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
T. Bárczy
Admatis
D. Barrado
Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB)
S.C.C. Barros
University of Porto
W. Baumjohann
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
T.A. Baycroft
University of Birmingham
T. Beck
University of Bern
W. Benz
University of Bern
B.I. Bíró
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
A. Bódi
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
X. Bonfils
Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG)
L. Borsato
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
S. Charnoz
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
B. Cseh
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Szilard Csizmadia
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
I. Csányi
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
P. E. Cubillos
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
M. B. Davies
Lund University
Y.T. Davis
University of Birmingham
M. Deleuil
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
O. Demangeon
University of Porto
A. Derekas
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
Georgina Dransfield
University of Birmingham
E. Ducrot
University Paris-Saclay
D. Ehrenreich
University of Geneva
Anders Erikson
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
C. Fariña
University of La Laguna
L. Fossati
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
Malcolm Fridlund
Leiden University
D. Gandolfi
University of Turin
Z. Garai
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
L.J. Garcia
University of Liège
Michaël Gillon
University of Liège
Y. Gómez Maqueo Chew
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
M.A. Gómez-Muñoz
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Veronica Granata
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
M. Gudel
University of Vienna
P. Guterman
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
T. Hegedüs
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
Ch. Helling
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
Emmanuel Jehin
University of Liège
Cs. Kalup
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
D. Kilkenny
University of the Western Cape
L. L. Kiss
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
L. Kriskovics
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
K. W.F. Lam
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
J. Laskar
Paris Observatory
A. L. des Etangs
Institut d 'Astrophysique de Paris
M. Lendl
University of Geneva
A. Lopez Pina
Airbus Group
A. Luntzer
University of Vienna
D. Magrin
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
N.J. Miller
Keele University
D. Modrego Contreras
Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial
C. Mordasini
University of Bern
M. Munari
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
C.A. Murray
University of Colorado at Boulder
Valerio Nascimbeni
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
H. Ottacher
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
R. Ottensamer
University of Vienna
I. Pagano
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Pál
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Enric Palle
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
A. Pasetti
High Tech Center 1
P.P. Pedersen
University of Cambridge
G. Peter
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
R. Petrucci
Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba
Giampaolo P. Piotto
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Pizarro-Rubio
Airbus Group
Don L. Pollacco
The University of Warwick
T. Pribulla
Slovak Academy of Sciences
D. Queloz
University of Cambridge
Roberto Ragazzoni
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
N. Rando
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
H. Rauer
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
I. Ribas
Institute of Space Sciences (ICE) - CSIC
L. Sabin
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
N. C. Santos
University of Porto
Gaetano Scandariato
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
N. Schanche
College of Computer, Mathematical, & Natural Sciences
U. Schroffenegger
University of Bern
O.J. Scutt
University of Birmingham
D. Sebastian
University of Birmingham
D. Segransan
University of Geneva
B. Seli
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
A. M.S. Smith
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
R. Southworth
European Space Operations Centre
M.R. Standing
University of Birmingham
Gy M. Szabó
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
R. Szakáts
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Nicolas Thomas
University of Bern
M. Timmermans
University of Liège
Amaury Triaud
University of Birmingham
S. Udry
University of Geneva
V. Van Grootel
University of Liège
J. Venturini
University of Geneva
E. Villaver
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
J. Vinkó
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
N. A. Walton
University of Cambridge
R. Wells
University of Bern
D. Wolter
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 687 A302Subject Categories
Aerospace Engineering
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Other Physics Topics
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202348576