Payload

PLATO camera render Credit: PLATO Mission Consortium

The key scientific requirement to detect and characterise a large number of terrestrial planets and their host bright stars determined the design of PLATO's payload module. The module provides a wide field-of-view (FoV) to maximise the number of the sparsely distributed bright stars in the sky with one pointing, and allows the satellite to cover a large part of the sky. In addition, it provides the required photometric accuracy to detect Earth-sized planets and a high photometric dynamic range, allowing astronomers to observe bright stars (mV < 11) as well as fainter stars down to V-magnitude 16. This performance is achieved by a multi‑telescope instrument concept, which is novel for a space telescope.

The payload consists of 24 “normal” cameras operating in the visible wavelength range. They are read out with a cadence of 25 s and monitor stars with mV > 8. Two additional “fast” cameras with high read‑out cadence (2.5 s) are used for stars with mV ≈ 4–8. The normal cameras are arranged in four groups of six. Each group has the same field-of-view but is offset by 9.2° from the payload module +Z axis, allowing astronomers to survey a total field of about 2250 deg² per pointing, but with different sensitivities over that field.

The ensemble of instruments is mounted on an optical bench. Each camera uses a fully dioptric design with six lenses. Each camera has an 1100 deg² field-of-view, a pupil diameter of 120 mm, and a focal plane array of four CCDs (4510 × 4510 pixels, 18 μm). They operate in full-frame mode for the normal cameras and in frame-transfer mode for the fast cameras.

Contributions to the Payload

Click on institutes for detail of contributions

  • Management of the PLATO payload hardware and on-board software elements developed by ESA and the PLATO Mission Consortium (PMC) including system engineering, assembly integration and verification (AIV), product assurance and project management
  • Lead the assembly, integration and functional testing of the PLATO payload
  • Engineering support for the development of the camera systems
  • CCDs, Ancillary Electronic Units, Central Part Procurement Agency (CPPA)
  • Co‑Principal Investigator
  • Telescope Optical Units
  • Instrument Control Unit and relevant onboard software
  • Management of the camera system, including system engineering, assembly integration and verification (AIV), product assurance and project management
  • Lead the assembly, integration, and functional testing of the normal and fast camera units
  • Support ESA in integration and verification, in‑orbit commissioning, and operation
  • Principal Investigator
  • Support for systems engineering
  • Fast Front‑End Electronics
  • Data Processing System
  • Fast Electronics Unit including the Fine Guidance System and onboard software
  • Performance monitoring and assessment
  • Support ESA in integration and verification, in‑orbit commissioning, in‑flight calibration and operation
  • Software for the data processing system of the normal telescopes
  • Contribution to Fast Front‑End Electronics
  • Contribution to camera assembly, integration and testing, and calibration activities
  • Co‑Principal Investigator
  • Focal Plane Assemblies mechanical and thermal architectures
  • Main Electronic Unit, including Data Processing Units for the normal cameras
  • Contribution to the assembly, integration and testing, and calibration of the Focal Plane Assembly at camera and system level and of the Main Electronic Unit at system level, including hardware, software and ground support equipment.
  • Contribute to the camera assembly, integration and testing, and calibration.
  • Support ESA in the integration and verification of the instrument, in-orbit commissioning and instrument operation.
  • Contribution to camera assembly, integration and testing, and calibration activities
  • Design, analysis, and building of the Broadband Filter Coating part of the optical design of the fast telescopes.
  • Co‑Principal Investigator
  • Normal Front‑End Electronics
  • Normal analogue chain calibration and characterization
  • Router and Data Compression Unit in the Instrument Control Unit
  • On‑board data compression algorithms
  • Management of assembly and integration, ambient alignment, and mechanical testing of camera EM, QM, and FMs
  • Coordination of the overall assembly, integration and testing programme, and calibration at camera level as part of the camera team.
  • Development of the common elements in the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) for ambient and thermal-vacuum tests.
  • Development and production of the camera transport containers.
  • Front‑end Support Structure for the normal and fast cameras.
  • Integration, verification, and delivery to ESA of the Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE) for camera testing.
  • Multilayer Insulation (MLI).
  • Telescope Optical Units mechanical structure
Questions about the PLATO mission or its Guest Observers Programme? Please contact our PLATO Helpdesk. This will connect you with our PLATO Science Operations Centre and technical specialists from our PLATO Mission Consortium, and our team will be happy to assist you. This website was last updated on 7 April 2026.