목성질량
A third part of the planet finding mission was the search for Jupiter-mass planets around young stars. The survey would have helped scientists understand more about solar system formation, including the occurrence of hot Jupiters. This portion of the planet hunt was designed to study systems with one or more Jupiter mass planets before the system has reached long term equilibrium. Planet hunting techniques using a star's radial velocity cannot measure the regular, tiny to-and-fro wobble motions induced by planets against the strong atmospheric activity of a youthful star. It is through the techniques pioneered by Albert A. Michelson that the SIM would have been able to execute its three primary planet-finding missions.