The Microlensing Planet Finder: Completing the Census of Planets
in the Milky Way
David Bennett
The Microlensing Planet Finder (MPF) is a proposed Discovery mission
that will complete the first census of extrasolar planets with
sensitivity to planets like those in our own solar system. MPF will
employ a 1.1m aperture telescope, which images a 1.3 sq. deg.
field-of-view in the near-IR, in order to detect extrasolar planets with
the gravitational microlensing effect. MPF's sensitivity extends
down to planets of 0.1 Earth masses, and MPF can detect Earth-like
planets at all separations from 0.7AU to infinity. MPF's extrasolar
planet census will provide critical information needed to understand the
formation and frequency of extrasolar planetary systems similar to our
own.