Based on statistics provided by the Kepler space mission and searches performed with Doppler techniques, super-Earth and Earth-like exoplanets (Rp ~ 0.8-2 times the Earth radius) could exist in about 10-20% of the Sun-like stars and potentially in more than 50% of the stars smaller than the Sun. Despite this, we still do not know which stars in the solar neighborhood may have Earth-like planets in potential habitability conditions.

The present project seeks to detect these Earth-like planets in the closest stars to the Sun and characterize their masses and atmospheres using the new ultra stable very high dispersion spectrograph ESPRESSO (built by our group at the IAC in collaboration with teams from three other countries). This instrument, already tested and in full operation since October 2018, can make simultaneous use of any combination of the four largest telescopes that Europe has in the Southern Hemisphere (VLT, ESO),  and is unique for its ability to measure radial velocities of stars with a precision of 10 cm/s, an order of magnitude better than no other instrument in the world. Our group has more than 200 guaranteed nights of observation to develop exoplanet science in the next three years in order to discover and characterize exo-Earths in the habitable zone in the stars closest to the Sun.