Herschel / Planck is a program of the European Space Agency (ESA) with the objective to continue and improve the investigations on formerly initiated science themes with state-of-art technology and cost effectiveness. Herschel will target the infrared and sub-millimetre part of the electromagnetic spectrum to explore the formation of galaxies and stars. Planck will scan a large part of the sky at sub-millimetre frequencies to detect the temperature fluctuation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity. Both spacecrafts carry scientific instruments operating at very low temperatures generated and controlled by dedicated cryogenic systems. The strong degree of commonalities between Herschel and Planck in terms of orbit, launcher, operations and Service Module is complemented by the implementation of a global development and verification methodology to increase the cost effectiveness and to exploit synergies while maintaining an acceptable level of risk. This paper deals on the peculiarities and challenges of the program in the verification and testing approaches and describes the tests foreseen at system and module level.
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