MOST

MOST, Canadian telescope that studied physical processes in stars and properties of extrasolar planets. MOST was launched on June 30, 2003, from Plestek, Russia, and was Canada’s first space telescope. It was a small spacecraft that weighed about 60 kg (130 pounds) and carried a telescope 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter. It discovered that the planet orbiting HD 209458 has a very low albedo (that is, it does not reflect much of its star’s light). The Canadian government ended funding of the MOST mission in 2014. The satellite was then bought by Microsat Systems Canada, which operated it until its power supply ran down in March 2019.

Erik Gregersen