System design of a mission to detect Earth-sized planets in the inner orbits of solar-like stars

A point design for a mission to detect Earth-sized planets in the inner orbits of solar-like stars is described. The observing technique is based upon continuously and simultaneously monitoring 5000 solar-like stars for brightness changes that would be caused by planets transiting their star. Detection of periodic transits of the same amplitude and duration provides for a robust method of discovery. The instrument would consist of a 1-m Schmidt telescope with an array of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) filling the 12 degrees field of view. The instrument would be placed in a halo orbit about the L2 Lagrange point, where its viewing would not be obscured at any time by the Sun, Earth, or Moon.