ESA's PLATO telescope to find Venus Zone planets and reveal how habitability evolves

The European Space Agency plans to launch the PLATO telescope in 2027 to search for rocky exoplanets, including those in the so-called Venus Zone — a region bounded by atmospheric loss from stellar flux on one side and runaway greenhouse climate on the other. Studying these planets will help scientists understand why Earth became sustainably habitable while Venus did not. The findings could reveal the key factors determining a rocky planet's long-term habitability.

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