Current CSH Project Members:
Dr. Christopher Broeg (Principal Investigator), Dr. Andrea Fortier (Mission Manager), Dr. Attila Simon (Instrument Scientist), Dr. Austin Peel (Data Analyst), Jonas Frey (PO IT Assistant) & Wei Wang (PO Assistant)
Project Start: 19 October 2012
Selected by ESA in 2012 and launched in 2019, CHEOPS is the first space mission dedicated to studying bright, nearby stars that are already known to host exoplanets, in order to make high-precision observations of the planet's size as it passes in front of its host star. It focuses on planets in the super-Earth to Neptune size range, with its data enabling the bulk density of the planets to be derived – a first-step characterization towards understanding these alien worlds.
CHEOPS was developed as a co-lead between ESA and Switzerland. Since successful commissioning, the mission PI at the University of Bern has taken over full responsibility for the mission operations of CHEOPS. This responsibility is executed through the mission manager who is situated at the Center for Space and Habitability at the University of Bern.
We are responsible for executing the daily operations of the CHEOPS mission through the Science Operations Center (SOC) situated in Geneva and the Mission Operations Center (MOC) located in Torrejon, Spain. This includes the safety of the space segment, the scientific mission planning (executing the observation coordinated with the science team and ESA for the guest observer program), the communication with the space segment (through the MOC), the execution and maintenance of the data reduction pipeline, the provision of the mission archive (through SOC), the calibration and monitoring of the instrument, orbit maintenance and collision avoidance. We are supported by ESA in these activities. Critical support is provided through the space debris office for collision avoidance maneuvers and with the platform maintenance contract with Airbus.
Several researchers at the University of Bern are part of the missions core science team or scientific collaborators as well.
Former CSH Project Members:
Dr. Tatiana Keller (Data Analyst)
