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D. Koch, W. Borucki, J. J. Lissauer (NASA Ames Reseacrh Center), E. W. Dunham (Lowell Observatory), J. Jenkins (SETI Institute)
The detection of extrasolar terrestrial planets orbiting main-sequence stars is of great interest and importance. Current ground-based methods are only capable of detecting objects about the size or mass of Jupiter or larger. The technological challenges of direct imaging of Earth-size planets from space are expected to be resolved over the next twenty years. Spacebased photometry of planetary transits is currently the only viable method for detection of terrestrial planets (30-600 times less massive than Jupiter). The method searches the extended solar neighborhood, providing a statistically large sample and the detailed characteristics of each individual case. A robust concept has been developed and proposed as a Discovery-class mission. The concept, its capabilities and strengths are presented.
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: dkoch@mail.arc.nasa.gov