The Kepler Mission

In our search for more knowledge about whether Earth is the only terrestrial planet in the universe, NASA has launched a mission capable of finding Earth-sized extra solar planets. First formed in March 2001, the Kepler Mission’s objectives include exploring the structures of planetary systems by surveying large numbers of stars in the galaxy and determining these planets sizes and shapes. The Kepler spacecraft contains a space photometer, which will be able to observe over 100,000 stars simultaneously while in orbit. This will give us an idea of how many Earth-sized planets exist in the solar system and hopefully provide information as to whether any of these planets may be habitable.

The tentative launch date is March 6, 2009, and according to NASA, the duration of the mission will be around 3.5 to 9 years. There are high expectations for this mission, and if all goes according to plan, NASA expects to detect about 50 or more Earth-sized planets, as well as some 800 other planets slightly larger than Earth. The photometer will point at the constellation Cygnus, which is not obscured by either the Kuiper belt or any asteroid fields. It is NASA’s hope that this mission, unlike past missions, will answer our questions concerning the existence of other Earth-like planets in this vast universe.