COROT has finished it's testing phase with excellent results. With that completed, the satelitte launched by the European Space Agency has begun it mission. COROT has begun looking for new planets around other stars. In order to accomplish this, COROT will be monitoring the amount of light emitted from distant stars. It is thought that when the light received from a star decreases in intensity, the satellite will have detected a planet passing in front of the star. This method of planet detection is thought to improve our chances of detecting smaller planets closer to a star, planets more like Earth, than previously possible.