Prof Don Pollacco – The PLATO Mission – The Habitable Zone Explorer

Professor Don Pollacco (Warwick University) is the head of the Science Management branch of the PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) mission consortium, scheduled for launch in 2024. The main goal of the mission is the detection of terrestrial planets at distances up to and including the habitable zone of bright, Solar-like stars. The mission will also provide key information on the bulk characteristics (and therefore the habitability) of these planets.