The science of EChO

Giovanna Tinetti; James Y-K. Cho; Caitlin A. Griffith; Olivier Grasset; Lee Grenfell; Tristan Guillot; Tommi T. Koskinen; Julianne I. Moses; David Pinfield; Jonathan Tennyson; Marcell Tessenyi; Robin Wordsworth; Alan Aylward; Roy van Boekel; Angioletta Coradini; Therese Encrenaz; Ignas Snellen; Maria R. Zapatero-Osorio; Jeroen Bouwman; Vincent Conde du Foresto; Mercedes Lopez-Morales; Ingo Mueller-Wodarg; Enric Palle; Franck Selsis; Alessandro Sozzetti; Jean-Philippe Beaulieu; Thomas Henning; Michael Meyer; Giuseppina Micela; Ignasi Ribas; Daphne Stam; Mark Swain; Oliver Krause; Marc Ollivier; Emanuele Pace; Bruce Swinyard; Peter A. R. Ade; Nick Achilleos; Alberto Adriani; Craig B. Agnor; Cristina Afonso; Carlos Allende Prieto; Gaspar Bakos; Robert J. Barber; Michael Barlow; Peter Bernath; Bruno Bezard; Pascal Borde; Linda R. Brown; Arnaud Cassan; Celine Cavarroc; Angela Ciaravella; Charles Cockell; Athena Coustenis; Camilla Danielski; Lean Decin; Remco De Kok; Olivier Demangeon; Pieter Deroo; Peter Doel; Pierre Drossart; Leigh N. Fletcher; Matteo Focardi; Francois Forget; Steve Fossey; Pascal Fouque; James Frith; Marina Galand; Patrick Gaulme; Jonay I. Gonzalez Hernandez; Davide Grassi; Matt J. Griffin; Ulrich Groezinger; Manuel Guedel; Pactrick Guio; Olivier Hainaut; Robert Hargreaves; Peter H. Hauschildt; Kevin Heng; David Heyrovsky; Ricardo Hueso; Pat Irwin; Lisa Kaltenegger; Patrick Kervella; David Kipping; Geza Kovacs; Antonin La Barbera; Helmut Lammar; Emmanuel Lellouch; Giuseppe Leto; Mercedes Lopez Morales; Miguel A. Lopez Valverde; Manuel Lopez-Puertas; Christophe Lovis; Antonio Maggio; Jean-Pierre Maillard; Jesus Maldonado Prado; Jean-Baptiste Marquette; Francisco J. Martin-Torres; Pierre Maxted; Steve Miller; Sergio Molinari; David Montes; Amaya Moro-Martin; Olivier Mousis; Napoleon Nguyen Tuong; Richard Nelson; Glenn S. Orton; Eric Pantin; Enzo Pascale; Stefano Pezzuto; Ennio Poretti; Raman Prinja; Loredana Prisinzano; Jean-Michel Reess; Ansgar Reiners; Benjamin Samuel; Jorge Sanz Forcada; Dimitar Sasselov; Giorgio Savini; Bruno Sicardy; Alan Smith; Lars Stixrude; Giovanni Strazzulla; Gautam Vasisht; Sandrine Vinatier; Serena Viti; Ingo Waldmann; Glenn J. White; Thomas Widemann; Roger Yelle; Yuk Yung; Sergey Yurchenko

doi:10.1017/S1743921311020448

The science of EChO

Giovanna Tinetti^*, James Y-K. Cho, Caitlin A. Griffith, Olivier Grasset, Lee Grenfell, Tristan Guillot, Tommi T. Koskinen, Julianne I. Moses, David Pinfield, Jonathan Tennyson, Marcell Tessenyi, Robin Wordsworth, Alan Aylward, Roy van Boekel, Angioletta Coradini, Therese Encrenaz, Ignas Snellen, Maria R. Zapatero-Osorio, Jeroen Bouwman, Vincent Conde du ForestoMercedes Lopez-Morales, Ingo Mueller-Wodarg, Enric Palle, Franck Selsis, Alessandro Sozzetti, Jean-Philippe Beaulieu, Thomas Henning, Michael Meyer, Giuseppina Micela, Ignasi Ribas, Daphne Stam, Mark Swain, Oliver Krause, Marc Ollivier, Emanuele Pace, Bruce Swinyard, Peter A. R. Ade, Nick Achilleos, Alberto Adriani, Craig B. Agnor, Cristina Afonso, Carlos Allende Prieto, Gaspar Bakos, Robert J. Barber, Michael Barlow, Peter Bernath, Bruno Bezard, Pascal Borde, Linda R. Brown, Arnaud Cassan, Celine Cavarroc, Angela Ciaravella, Charles Cockell, Athena Coustenis, Camilla Danielski, Lean Decin, Remco De Kok, Olivier Demangeon, Pieter Deroo, Peter Doel, Pierre Drossart, Leigh N. Fletcher, Matteo Focardi, Francois Forget, Steve Fossey, Pascal Fouque, James Frith, Marina Galand, Patrick Gaulme, Jonay I. Gonzalez Hernandez, Davide Grassi, Matt J. Griffin, Ulrich Groezinger, Manuel Guedel, Pactrick Guio, Olivier Hainaut, Robert Hargreaves, Peter H. Hauschildt, Kevin Heng, David Heyrovsky, Ricardo Hueso, Pat Irwin, Lisa Kaltenegger, Patrick Kervella, David Kipping, Geza Kovacs, Antonin La Barbera, Helmut Lammar, Emmanuel Lellouch, Giuseppe Leto, Mercedes Lopez Morales, Miguel A. Lopez Valverde, Manuel Lopez-Puertas, Christophe Lovis, Antonio Maggio, Jean-Pierre Maillard, Jesus Maldonado Prado, Jean-Baptiste Marquette, Francisco J. Martin-Torres, Pierre Maxted, Steve Miller, Sergio Molinari, David Montes, Amaya Moro-Martin, Olivier Mousis, Napoleon Nguyen Tuong, Richard Nelson, Glenn S. Orton, Eric Pantin, Enzo Pascale, Stefano Pezzuto, Ennio Poretti, Raman Prinja, Loredana Prisinzano, Jean-Michel Reess, Ansgar Reiners, Benjamin Samuel, Jorge Sanz Forcada, Dimitar Sasselov, Giorgio Savini, Bruno Sicardy, Alan Smith, Lars Stixrude, Giovanni Strazzulla, Gautam Vasisht, Sandrine Vinatier, Serena Viti, Ingo Waldmann, Glenn J. White, Thomas Widemann, Roger Yelle, Yuk Yung, Sergey Yurchenko

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract / Description of output

The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gain mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are?

In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life.

The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole.

EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: FORMATION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION
Editors	A Sozzetti, MG Lattanzi, AP Boss
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Pages	359-370
Number of pages	12
ISBN (Print)	978-0-521-19652-9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921311020448
Publication status	Published - 2011
Event	276th Symposium of the International-Astronomical-Union on Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution - Torino, Italy Duration: 10 Oct 2010 → 15 Oct 2010

Publication series

Name	IAU Symposium Proceedings Series
Publisher	CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
Volume	276
ISSN (Print)	1743-9213

Conference

Conference	276th Symposium of the International-Astronomical-Union on Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution
Country/Territory	Italy
Period	10/10/10 → 15/10/10

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

planets and satellites: formation
planets and satellites: general
planetary systems
planetary systems: formation
EARTH-LIKE PLANETS
MASS-RADIUS RELATIONSHIPS
SUN-LIKE STAR
GIANT PLANETS
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
EXTRASOLAR PLANETS
BROWN DWARFS
HD 209458B
SOLID EXOPLANETS
OCEAN-PLANETS

Access to Document

10.1017/S1743921311020448

Cite this

Tinetti, G., Cho, J. Y.-K., Griffith, C. A., Grasset, O., Grenfell, L., Guillot, T., Koskinen, T. T., Moses, J. I., Pinfield, D., Tennyson, J., Tessenyi, M., Wordsworth, R., Aylward, A., van Boekel, R., Coradini, A., Encrenaz, T., Snellen, I., Zapatero-Osorio, M. R., Bouwman, J., ... Yurchenko, S. (2011). The science of EChO. In A. Sozzetti, MG. Lattanzi, & AP. Boss (Eds.), ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: FORMATION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION (pp. 359-370). (IAU Symposium Proceedings Series; Vol. 276). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921311020448

@inproceedings{b0ff27d39dd34be6884b6ae503ba3ba3,

title = "The science of EChO",

abstract = "The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gain mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are?In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life.The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole.EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates.",

keywords = "planets and satellites: formation, planets and satellites: general, planetary systems, planetary systems: formation, EARTH-LIKE PLANETS, MASS-RADIUS RELATIONSHIPS, SUN-LIKE STAR, GIANT PLANETS, ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY, EXTRASOLAR PLANETS, BROWN DWARFS, HD 209458B, SOLID EXOPLANETS, OCEAN-PLANETS",

author = "Giovanna Tinetti and Cho, {James Y-K.} and Griffith, {Caitlin A.} and Olivier Grasset and Lee Grenfell and Tristan Guillot and Koskinen, {Tommi T.} and Moses, {Julianne I.} and David Pinfield and Jonathan Tennyson and Marcell Tessenyi and Robin Wordsworth and Alan Aylward and {van Boekel}, Roy and Angioletta Coradini and Therese Encrenaz and Ignas Snellen and Zapatero-Osorio, {Maria R.} and Jeroen Bouwman and {du Foresto}, {Vincent Conde} and Mercedes Lopez-Morales and Ingo Mueller-Wodarg and Enric Palle and Franck Selsis and Alessandro Sozzetti and Jean-Philippe Beaulieu and Thomas Henning and Michael Meyer and Giuseppina Micela and Ignasi Ribas and Daphne Stam and Mark Swain and Oliver Krause and Marc Ollivier and Emanuele Pace and Bruce Swinyard and Ade, {Peter A. R.} and Nick Achilleos and Alberto Adriani and Agnor, {Craig B.} and Cristina Afonso and Prieto, {Carlos Allende} and Gaspar Bakos and Barber, {Robert J.} and Michael Barlow and Peter Bernath and Bruno Bezard and Pascal Borde and Brown, {Linda R.} and Arnaud Cassan and Celine Cavarroc and Angela Ciaravella and Charles Cockell and Athena Coustenis and Camilla Danielski and Lean Decin and {De Kok}, Remco and Olivier Demangeon and Pieter Deroo and Peter Doel and Pierre Drossart and Fletcher, {Leigh N.} and Matteo Focardi and Francois Forget and Steve Fossey and Pascal Fouque and James Frith and Marina Galand and Patrick Gaulme and Hernandez, {Jonay I. Gonzalez} and Davide Grassi and Griffin, {Matt J.} and Ulrich Groezinger and Manuel Guedel and Pactrick Guio and Olivier Hainaut and Robert Hargreaves and Hauschildt, {Peter H.} and Kevin Heng and David Heyrovsky and Ricardo Hueso and Pat Irwin and Lisa Kaltenegger and Patrick Kervella and David Kipping and Geza Kovacs and {La Barbera}, Antonin and Helmut Lammar and Emmanuel Lellouch and Giuseppe Leto and Morales, {Mercedes Lopez} and Valverde, {Miguel A. Lopez} and Manuel Lopez-Puertas and Christophe Lovis and Antonio Maggio and Jean-Pierre Maillard and Prado, {Jesus Maldonado} and Jean-Baptiste Marquette and Martin-Torres, {Francisco J.} and Pierre Maxted and Steve Miller and Sergio Molinari and David Montes and Amaya Moro-Martin and Olivier Mousis and Tuong, {Napoleon Nguyen} and Richard Nelson and Orton, {Glenn S.} and Eric Pantin and Enzo Pascale and Stefano Pezzuto and Ennio Poretti and Raman Prinja and Loredana Prisinzano and Jean-Michel Reess and Ansgar Reiners and Benjamin Samuel and Forcada, {Jorge Sanz} and Dimitar Sasselov and Giorgio Savini and Bruno Sicardy and Alan Smith and Lars Stixrude and Giovanni Strazzulla and Gautam Vasisht and Sandrine Vinatier and Serena Viti and Ingo Waldmann and White, {Glenn J.} and Thomas Widemann and Roger Yelle and Yuk Yung and Sergey Yurchenko",

year = "2011",

doi = "10.1017/S1743921311020448",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-0-521-19652-9",

series = "IAU Symposium Proceedings Series",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

pages = "359--370",

editor = "A Sozzetti and MG Lattanzi and AP Boss",

booktitle = "ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: FORMATION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION",

address = "United States",

note = "276th Symposium of the International-Astronomical-Union on Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution ; Conference date: 10-10-2010 Through 15-10-2010",

}

Tinetti, G, Cho, JY-K, Griffith, CA, Grasset, O, Grenfell, L, Guillot, T, Koskinen, TT, Moses, JI, Pinfield, D, Tennyson, J, Tessenyi, M, Wordsworth, R, Aylward, A, van Boekel, R, Coradini, A, Encrenaz, T, Snellen, I, Zapatero-Osorio, MR, Bouwman, J, du Foresto, VC, Lopez-Morales, M, Mueller-Wodarg, I, Palle, E, Selsis, F, Sozzetti, A, Beaulieu, J-P, Henning, T, Meyer, M, Micela, G, Ribas, I, Stam, D, Swain, M, Krause, O, Ollivier, M, Pace, E, Swinyard, B, Ade, PAR, Achilleos, N, Adriani, A, Agnor, CB, Afonso, C, Prieto, CA, Bakos, G, Barber, RJ, Barlow, M, Bernath, P, Bezard, B, Borde, P, Brown, LR, Cassan, A, Cavarroc, C, Ciaravella, A, Cockell, C, Coustenis, A, Danielski, C, Decin, L, De Kok, R, Demangeon, O, Deroo, P, Doel, P, Drossart, P, Fletcher, LN, Focardi, M, Forget, F, Fossey, S, Fouque, P, Frith, J, Galand, M, Gaulme, P, Hernandez, JIG, Grassi, D, Griffin, MJ, Groezinger, U, Guedel, M, Guio, P, Hainaut, O, Hargreaves, R, Hauschildt, PH, Heng, K, Heyrovsky, D, Hueso, R, Irwin, P, Kaltenegger, L, Kervella, P, Kipping, D, Kovacs, G, La Barbera, A, Lammar, H, Lellouch, E, Leto, G, Morales, ML, Valverde, MAL, Lopez-Puertas, M, Lovis, C, Maggio, A, Maillard, J-P, Prado, JM, Marquette, J-B, Martin-Torres, FJ, Maxted, P, Miller, S, Molinari, S, Montes, D, Moro-Martin, A, Mousis, O, Tuong, NN, Nelson, R, Orton, GS, Pantin, E, Pascale, E, Pezzuto, S, Poretti, E, Prinja, R, Prisinzano, L, Reess, J-M, Reiners, A, Samuel, B, Forcada, JS, Sasselov, D, Savini, G, Sicardy, B, Smith, A, Stixrude, L, Strazzulla, G, Vasisht, G, Vinatier, S, Viti, S, Waldmann, I, White, GJ, Widemann, T, Yelle, R, Yung, Y & Yurchenko, S 2011, The science of EChO. in A Sozzetti, MG Lattanzi & AP Boss (eds), ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: FORMATION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION. IAU Symposium Proceedings Series, vol. 276, Cambridge University Press, pp. 359-370, 276th Symposium of the International-Astronomical-Union on Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution, Italy, 10/10/10. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921311020448

The science of EChO. / Tinetti, Giovanna; Cho, James Y-K.; Griffith, Caitlin A. et al.
ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: FORMATION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION. ed. / A Sozzetti; MG Lattanzi; AP Boss. Cambridge University Press, 2011. p. 359-370 (IAU Symposium Proceedings Series; Vol. 276).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

T1 - The science of EChO

AU - Tinetti, Giovanna

AU - Cho, James Y-K.

AU - Griffith, Caitlin A.

AU - Grasset, Olivier

AU - Grenfell, Lee

AU - Guillot, Tristan

AU - Koskinen, Tommi T.

AU - Moses, Julianne I.

AU - Pinfield, David

AU - Tennyson, Jonathan

AU - Tessenyi, Marcell

AU - Wordsworth, Robin

AU - Aylward, Alan

AU - van Boekel, Roy

AU - Coradini, Angioletta

AU - Encrenaz, Therese

AU - Snellen, Ignas

AU - Zapatero-Osorio, Maria R.

AU - Bouwman, Jeroen

AU - du Foresto, Vincent Conde

AU - Lopez-Morales, Mercedes

AU - Mueller-Wodarg, Ingo

AU - Palle, Enric

AU - Selsis, Franck

AU - Sozzetti, Alessandro

AU - Beaulieu, Jean-Philippe

AU - Henning, Thomas

AU - Meyer, Michael

AU - Micela, Giuseppina

AU - Ribas, Ignasi

AU - Stam, Daphne

AU - Swain, Mark

AU - Krause, Oliver

AU - Ollivier, Marc

AU - Pace, Emanuele

AU - Swinyard, Bruce

AU - Ade, Peter A. R.

AU - Achilleos, Nick

AU - Adriani, Alberto

AU - Agnor, Craig B.

AU - Afonso, Cristina

AU - Prieto, Carlos Allende

AU - Bakos, Gaspar

AU - Barber, Robert J.

AU - Barlow, Michael

AU - Bernath, Peter

AU - Bezard, Bruno

AU - Borde, Pascal

AU - Brown, Linda R.

AU - Cassan, Arnaud

AU - Cavarroc, Celine

AU - Ciaravella, Angela

AU - Cockell, Charles

AU - Coustenis, Athena

AU - Danielski, Camilla

AU - Decin, Lean

AU - De Kok, Remco

AU - Demangeon, Olivier

AU - Deroo, Pieter

AU - Doel, Peter

AU - Drossart, Pierre

AU - Fletcher, Leigh N.

AU - Focardi, Matteo

AU - Forget, Francois

AU - Fossey, Steve

AU - Fouque, Pascal

AU - Frith, James

AU - Galand, Marina

AU - Gaulme, Patrick

AU - Hernandez, Jonay I. Gonzalez

AU - Grassi, Davide

AU - Griffin, Matt J.

AU - Groezinger, Ulrich

AU - Guedel, Manuel

AU - Guio, Pactrick

AU - Hainaut, Olivier

AU - Hargreaves, Robert

AU - Hauschildt, Peter H.

AU - Heng, Kevin

AU - Heyrovsky, David

AU - Hueso, Ricardo

AU - Irwin, Pat

AU - Kaltenegger, Lisa

AU - Kervella, Patrick

AU - Kipping, David

AU - Kovacs, Geza

AU - La Barbera, Antonin

AU - Lammar, Helmut

AU - Lellouch, Emmanuel

AU - Leto, Giuseppe

AU - Morales, Mercedes Lopez

AU - Valverde, Miguel A. Lopez

AU - Lopez-Puertas, Manuel

AU - Lovis, Christophe

AU - Maggio, Antonio

AU - Maillard, Jean-Pierre

AU - Prado, Jesus Maldonado

AU - Marquette, Jean-Baptiste

AU - Martin-Torres, Francisco J.

AU - Maxted, Pierre

AU - Miller, Steve

AU - Molinari, Sergio

AU - Montes, David

AU - Moro-Martin, Amaya

AU - Mousis, Olivier

AU - Tuong, Napoleon Nguyen

AU - Nelson, Richard

AU - Orton, Glenn S.

AU - Pantin, Eric

AU - Pascale, Enzo

AU - Pezzuto, Stefano

AU - Poretti, Ennio

AU - Prinja, Raman

AU - Prisinzano, Loredana

AU - Reess, Jean-Michel

AU - Reiners, Ansgar

AU - Samuel, Benjamin

AU - Forcada, Jorge Sanz

AU - Sasselov, Dimitar

AU - Savini, Giorgio

AU - Sicardy, Bruno

AU - Smith, Alan

AU - Stixrude, Lars

AU - Strazzulla, Giovanni

AU - Vasisht, Gautam

AU - Vinatier, Sandrine

AU - Viti, Serena

AU - Waldmann, Ingo

AU - White, Glenn J.

AU - Widemann, Thomas

AU - Yelle, Roger

AU - Yung, Yuk

AU - Yurchenko, Sergey

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gain mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are?In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life.The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole.EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates.

AB - The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gain mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are?In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life.The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole.EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates.

KW - planets and satellites: formation

KW - planets and satellites: general

KW - planetary systems

KW - planetary systems: formation

KW - EARTH-LIKE PLANETS

KW - MASS-RADIUS RELATIONSHIPS

KW - SUN-LIKE STAR

KW - GIANT PLANETS

KW - ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

KW - EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

KW - BROWN DWARFS

KW - HD 209458B

KW - SOLID EXOPLANETS

KW - OCEAN-PLANETS

U2 - 10.1017/S1743921311020448

DO - 10.1017/S1743921311020448

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 978-0-521-19652-9

T3 - IAU Symposium Proceedings Series

SP - 359

EP - 370

BT - ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: FORMATION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION

A2 - Sozzetti, A

A2 - Lattanzi, MG

A2 - Boss, AP

PB - Cambridge University Press

T2 - 276th Symposium of the International-Astronomical-Union on Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution

Y2 - 10 October 2010 through 15 October 2010

ER -

The science of EChO

Abstract / Description of output

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Conference

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Access to Document

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Cite this