β Pictoris b is a young still forming planet at only 19.3 parsecs from the Sun and therefore the closest that we know of. With an age of only 20 million years, it is a perfect object of study for understanding the formation mechanism of giant planets. Because the system is seen edge-on, there is a unique possibility that the planet transits in front of its star. It is a rare event, taking place only once every 18 years. This transit could take place during the end of 2017, with an uncertainty of three months. The PICSAT project is a dedicated space-based photometric observatory to observe this unique object. The launch of PicSat is scheduled for December 2017.

The PicSat project is currently in the testing phase. The results from the tests performed on the prototypes have been encouraging and manufacturing of a model for the qualification of electronics and payload mechanics has begun. In June 2016, the project team received the subsystems purchased from industrial companies for qualification. The complete assembly of the qualification model in the summer of 2016 will allow the production of the flight model.

The team has grown from 3 professionals and 2 trainees to 5 professionals and 3 trainees, as well as a post-doc who started in June 2016.

Contact : vincent.lapeyrere @ obspm.fr

For2016-2017 : Probably at least 2 long internships, minimum 3 months, in instrumentation (ground testing and validation), ground-space communication, embedded computing, ground-based computing including amateur-professional cooperation.

See also : PICSAT website