Twinkle will cast a weather eye on far-flung planets

Independent UK mission hopes to analyse the atmospheres of distant worlds using off-the-shelf components

Twinkle is a small mission with big ambitions. Designed to reveal the chemical composition, weather and history of planets orbiting distant stars, it will involve building and launching a space telescope before 2019.

Twinkle is an independent mission proposed by UK scientists and engineers. It will be built in the UK, and this month it passed a key design milestone.