CHEOPS in-flight performance: A comprehensive look at the first 3.5 yr of operations
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 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
Författare
A. Fortier
Universität Bern
A.E. Simon
Universität Bern
C. Broeg
Universität Bern
G. Olofsson
Stockholms universitet
A. Deline
Université de Genève
T.G. Wilson
The University of Warwick
P. Maxted
Keele University
A. Brandeker
Stockholms universitet
A. Collier Cameron
University of St Andrews
M. Beck
Université de Genève
A. Bekkelien
Université de Genève
N. Billot
Université de Genève
A. Bonfanti
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
G. Bruno
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
J. Cabrera
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
L. Delrez
Universite de Liège
B.O. Demory
Universität Bern
D. Futyan
Université de Genève
H.-G. Florén
Stockholms universitet
Maximilian N. Günther
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
A. Heitzmann
Université de Genève
S. Hoyer
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
K. Isaak
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
S.G. Sousa
Universidade do Porto
M. Stalport
Universite de Liège
A. Turin
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
P. Verhoeve
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
B. Akinsanmi
Université de Genève
Y. Alibert
Universität 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
Universidade do Porto
W. Baumjohann
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
T.A. Baycroft
University of Birmingham
T. Beck
Universität Bern
W. Benz
Universität Bern
B.I. Bíró
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
A. Bódi
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
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
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
Szilard Csizmadia
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
I. Csányi
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
P. E. Cubillos
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
M. B. Davies
Lunds universitet
Y.T. Davis
University of Birmingham
M. Deleuil
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
O. Demangeon
Universidade do Porto
A. Derekas
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
Georgina Dransfield
University of Birmingham
E. Ducrot
Université Paris-Saclay
D. Ehrenreich
Université de Genève
Anders Erikson
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
C. Fariña
Universidad de la Laguna
L. Fossati
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
Malcolm Fridlund
Universiteit Leiden
D. Gandolfi
Universita degli Studi di Torino
Z. Garai
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
L.J. Garcia
Universite de Liège
Michaël Gillon
Universite de 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
Universität Wien
P. Guterman
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
T. Hegedüs
Baja Astronomical Observatory of University of Szeged
Ch. Helling
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
Emmanuel Jehin
Universite de Liège
Cs. Kalup
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
D. Kilkenny
University of the Western Cape
L. L. Kiss
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
L. Kriskovics
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
K. W.F. Lam
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
J. Laskar
Observatoire de Paris
A. L. des Etangs
Institut d 'Astrophysique de Paris
M. Lendl
Université de Genève
A. Lopez Pina
Airbus Group
A. Luntzer
Universität Wien
D. Magrin
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
N.J. Miller
Keele University
D. Modrego Contreras
Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial
C. Mordasini
Universität 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
Universität Wien
I. Pagano
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Pál
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
Enric Palle
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
A. Pasetti
High Tech Center 1
P.P. Pedersen
University of Cambridge
G. Peter
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (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
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
I. Ribas
Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (ICE) - CSIC
L. Sabin
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
N. C. Santos
Universidade do Porto
Gaetano Scandariato
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
N. Schanche
College of Computer, Mathematical, & Natural Sciences
U. Schroffenegger
Universität Bern
O.J. Scutt
University of Birmingham
D. Sebastian
University of Birmingham
D. Segransan
Université de Genève
B. Seli
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
A. M.S. Smith
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
R. Southworth
European Space Operations Centre
M.R. Standing
University of Birmingham
Gy M. Szabó
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
R. Szakáts
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
Nicolas Thomas
Universität Bern
M. Timmermans
Universite de Liège
Amaury Triaud
University of Birmingham
S. Udry
Université de Genève
V. Van Grootel
Universite de Liège
J. Venturini
Université de Genève
E. Villaver
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
J. Vinkó
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
N. A. Walton
University of Cambridge
R. Wells
Universität Bern
D. Wolter
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 687 A302Ämneskategorier
Rymd- och flygteknik
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
Annan fysik
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202348576