Nasa turns on Tess spacecraft, starting major search for alien worlds
Ship is expected to find thousands of planets, some of which might be able to support life
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nasa has begun a major search for alien worlds.
The agency's Tess spacecraft has started its science missions, exploring the universe as it looks for new planets. It engineers hope that it will eventually find thousands of alien worlds, some of which could be habitable.
The craft – whose name stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite – will look deep in the universe for signs of planets. Any that are found will be explored from afar, as scientists try to work out what it might be like on those planets, and whether life could survive there.
Like the Kepler satellite that preceded it, Tess will use a detection method called transit photometry. That involves watching distant stars for any dips of light caused by planets that pass in front of them, and using the patterns of those dips to work out how big they might be and what their orbits are.
That technique has already allowed Kepler to find thousands of possible planets, some of which are key candidates for habitability. Tess is expected to find thousands more.
Its work has already begun and it will send its first set of science data back in August. After that it will send down new findings roughly every fortnight, and the science team will scour through it for signs of planets as soon as it arrives.
“I’m thrilled that our planet hunter is ready to start combing the backyard of our solar system for new worlds,” said Paul Hertz, Nasa Astrophysics division director at its headquarters in Washington. “With possibly more planets than stars in our universe, I look forward to the strange, fantastic worlds we’re bound to discover.”
Tess's mission is scheduled to last for two years. But Kepler and other Nasa projects have lasted much longer than those initial projects, so it could be peeking through our universe for much longer than that.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments