PARIS - The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed that a new satellite project would be set into motion on Wednesday in order to seek out Earth-like planets outside of the solar system. The mission, led by France, will also attempt to examine the interior of the stars.
The project is called as Corot (COnvection, ROtation and planetary Transits). It will be the maiden attempt to detect similar sized planets as Earth that are orbiting different stars and not the Sun. Thus far the smallest planet discovered happens to be at least five times the size of Earth.
Claude Catala, a researcher associated with the project detailed the mission on France Info radio. "We expect to obtain a better vision of planet systems beyond the solar system, about the distribution of planet sizes," she said. "And finally, it will allow us to estimate the likelihood of there existing planets resembling the Earth in the neighborhood of the sun or further away in the galaxy."
The ESA also explained that the project would track the resonance of sound waves through stars. This resonance will create a bright halo around a star giving a chance to peek into the interior. "The exact nature of the ripples allows astronomers to calculate the star's precise mass, age and chemical composition," the ESA added.
US space agency NASA will be launching Kepler in 2008. This space telescope will be capable of detecting Earth-sized planets that are traversing orbits similar to the Earth.
