MICROSCOPE
MICROSCOPE was a CNES-led space experiment testing whether bodies with different compositions undergo the same acceleration in free fall, a central prediction of the weak equivalence principle. Differential electrostatic accelerometers compared titanium-alloy and platinum-alloy test masses inside a drag-free microsatellite in Sun-synchronous Earth orbit. A second pair of platinum test masses provided a reference. The mission operated from April 2016 to satellite deactivation in October 2018, and its final results were published in 2022.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Microscope mission
- Name
- MICROSCOPE
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- MICROSCOPE was a CNES-led space experiment testing whether bodies with different compositions undergo the same acceleration in free fall, a central prediction of the weak equivalence principle. Differential electrostatic accelerometers compared titanium-alloy and platinum-alloy test masses inside a drag-free microsatellite in Sun-synchronous Earth orbit. A second pair of platinum test masses provided a reference. The mission operated from April 2016 to satellite deactivation in October 2018, and its final results were published in 2022.
- Destination
- Sun-synchronous circular Earth orbit
- End Date
- 2018-10-16
- Outcome
- The final analysis found no violation of the weak equivalence principle. For the titanium–platinum pair, the Eötvös parameter was [−1.5 ± 2.3 (statistical) ± 1.5 (systematic)] × 10⁻¹⁵, with the statistical uncertainty quoted at one standard deviation. The result constrains possible composition-dependent acceleration within the experiment’s sensitivity.
- Programs
- -
- Start Date
- 2016-04-25
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://cnes.fr/en/projects/microscope
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- October 29, 2026 at 15:16:25 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 15:26:01 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles