A planet-hunting spacecraft named Plato just passed a series of critical tests as it prepares for the challenges of outer space.
What is it?
Gleaming in the light of a laboratory, this box of electronics is actually the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft sitting inside a special test chamber where it underwent critical tests ahead of its planned spaceflight.
The Plato (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) probe is designed to study terrestrial exoplanets, or rocky planets outside of our solar system that are Earth-sized or smaller.
This chamber, called the Maxwell Test Chamber (which is located at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands), is an enclosure made of conductive metal that blocks electromagnetic fields. On top of the conductive metal are foam spikes. Combined, they block out and/or absorb all electrical signals and sounds to mimic some aspects of the environment of the vacuum of space.
In this enclosure, the team turned on Plato’s electronics to make sure that signals from some of the probe’s instruments don’t interfere with other systems or electronics on the craft. With all other signals blocked out, scientists had a clear look into how it might perform in space.
Why is it incredible?
This test is critical as Plato will need to be able to collect data and run its instruments without interference from electronics or signals from elsewhere on the spacecraft. But it’s pretty impossible to ensure that things would work as planned amidst the “noise” on planet Earth.
To get any spacecraft ready to operate in the void of space, researchers conduct all sorts of tests to make absolutely sure that they’re up to the challenge. In addition to tests like this, spacecraft can be placed in extremely hot or cold temperature chambers or even shaken around to make sure that they can handle the violent conditions of a rocket launch. It’s amazing how we can recreate different aspects of outer space here on Earth to prepare for these missions.