Swiss space telescope Cheops mission extended TX Group reports a loss in 2022 – dividend will be reduced

The Swiss space telescope Cheops will stay in space longer. After more than three years in orbit, the mission has been extended, led by the University of Bern in collaboration with the University of Geneva.

On Tuesday, the “Science Program Committee” of the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed the continuation of the Cheops mission until 2026, the two universities write in a statement on Thursday. In addition, an extension until 2029 is possible, depending on the support of national sponsors and partners.

Since its launch in December 2019, the satellite’s highly accurate measurements have contributed to several important discoveries in exoplanet research. The expansion will make it possible to investigate even more closely these fascinating worlds around other stars.

Cheops’ main assignment was designed for a period of three and a half years, ie until September 2023. More than 50 scientific articles based on Cheops data have already been published in international journals.

Exceeded all expectations

“The precision of CHEOPS exceeded all expectations and allowed us to determine the properties of several of the most interesting exoplanets,” emphasized University of Bern astrophysicist Willy Benz, who is leading the mission. Now that the mission extension has been approved, the Cheops team wants to continue using the satellite for its core tasks, but at the same time try out new observation methods.

“We’ve only scratched the surface of Cheops’ capabilities so far,” Benz said. The satellite offers many more scientific possibilities. “Researchers are curious what surprising results Cheops will produce next.” (sda)