Abstract：Twinkle is a small, dedicated satellite that has been conceived to measure the atmospheric composition of exoplanets. This cost-effective spacecraft is being constructed on a short timescale in the UK and is planned for launch in 2022. Twinkle will carry a 45cm telescope with two instruments (visible and near-IR spectrographs - between 0.4 and 4.5μm with resolving power up to R~250) and will follow a Sun-synchronous low-Earth polar orbit.  

Twinkle is being built to carry out cutting-edge science: Twinkle will use visible and infrared spectroscopy to analyse the chemical composition and weather of exoplanets in the Milky Way, including super-Earths (rocky planets 1-10 times the mass of Earth), Neptunes, sub-Neptunes and gas giants like Jupiter. It will also be capable of follow-up photometric observations of 1000+ exoplanets. Photometric measurements taken simultaneously in the visible and the infrared bands, will allow orbital parameters of systems as well as precise measurements of transit timing variations present in multiple planetary systems to be well constrained. The exoplanet targets observed by Twinkle will be composed of known exoplanets discovered by existing and upcoming ground- and space-based surveys (e.g. K2, GAIA, Cheops, TESS). In addition, the technical features of the satellite will allow it to be also used extensively for observations of solar system objects (moons, NEOs, asteroids).