PLATO is a European Space Agency M3 mission within the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 programme, developed to search for planets around bright stars. Its name stands for Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars. The mission uses 26 telescopes, each with a 20-centimetre class aperture, combining their observations to survey a wide area of the sky for planets that pass in front of their host stars.

PLATO is designed to detect and characterise planets, including Earth-like worlds in terms of mass and orbital distance around Sun-like stars, and to investigate planetary systems and their formation. It also studies stellar oscillations, supporting measurements of the properties and ages of stars and their planets. The PLATO Mission Consortium brings together scientists and engineers working with ESA to design and produce the mission’s payload, develop its science programme, and establish the ground segment.

The mission’s work encompasses cameras and spacecraft payload development, science operations, data products, and ground-based observations. PLATO’s launch is planned for 2026, with operations intended at the Sun–Earth Lagrange point 2