Planet-detector nears its launch (BBC)

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By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News

The hunt for Earth-like planets is to be stepped-up as a new mission prepares for launch.

Corot will be the first spacecraft capable of detecting rocky planets just a few times bigger than Earth that are orbiting neighbouring stars.

It will also uncover information on the stars themselves, determining their mass, age and chemical composition.

The multinational mission, led by the French space agency Cnes, is due to launch on the 26 or 27 December.

Thien Lam Trong, Corot Project Manager from Cnes, said: "Man has been thinking about other worlds since the beginning of astronomy. Corot will help us to understand whether Earth-like exoplanets are a reality or dream."
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6210012.stm