CNES, ESA Extend Corot Mission, Contract with GMV

[Satellite TODAY 12-16-09] The French Space Agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have extended their contract with GMV to provide mission control of Convection Rotation and planetary Transits (Corot) probe through 2012, GMV announced Dec. 15.
    GMV is responsible for the design, development and maintenance of the Corot mission control, which prepares and plans scientific activities and also receives and processes the scientific data generated on the mission.
    Corot, launched in December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, was commissioned to scout for rocky exoplanets located outside our solar system, especially those of similar size to earth that orbit nearby stars. Since the launch, the mission has discovered seven rocky planets, including some bigger than the Earth.

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