Kepler Mission

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The Kepler Mission uses a NASA space telescope designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. Orbiting the sun for at least 3.5 years, Kepler will use a photometer developed by NASA to continuously monitor the brightness of over 100,000 stars in a fixed field of view. The data collected from these observations will be analyzed to detect periodic fluctuations that indicate the presence of transiting exoplanets. The mission is named in honor of German astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Kepler is a mission under NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, focused science missions. NASA's Ames Research Center is the home organization of the science principal investigator and is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. Kepler mission development is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system.

The Kepler Spacecraft was launched on March 6, 2009 at 22:49:57 UTC-5.

For more information about Kepler Mission, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with kepler mission

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Kepler Mission Manager Update

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Kepler experienced a safe mode event on Nov. 18, 2009.


Kepler

Kepler Mission Update

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 06, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Kepler completed another science data download over October 18-19. In this download, a month's worth of science data was transmitted through the NASA Deep Space Network and into the Science ...


Kepler

Kepler Mission Update

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Sep 23, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Kepler is approximately 18 million kilometers (11 million miles) from Earth, and continuing its drift-away orbit. All systems are operating normally. Last week, the Kepler project team completed ...


Kepler and the Search for Life in Our Galaxy

Kepler and the Search for Life in Our Galaxy

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 15, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- There are so many stars in our galaxy that even if planets with complex life (animals and plants) are rare - say one for every billion stars - there could still be dozens here in the Milky ...


Will Kepler find habitable moons?

Will Kepler find habitable moons?

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (14) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Since the launch of the NASA Kepler Mission earlier this year, astronomers have been keenly awaiting the first detection of an Earth-like planet around another star. Now, in an echo of science ...


Scientists Develop New Method to Find Alien Oceans, Earth-like Planets (w/Videos)

Scientists Develop New Method to Find Alien Oceans, Earth-like Planets (w/Videos)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 26, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Since the early 1990s astronomers have discovered more than 300 planets orbiting stars other than our sun, nearly all of them gas giants like Jupiter. Powerful space telescopes, such as the ...


Let the Planet Hunt Begin

Let the Planet Hunt Begin

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 13, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Kepler spacecraft has begun its search for other Earth-like worlds. The mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 6, will spend the next three-and-a-half years staring ...


Kepler launch

Adventures in the 'Goldilocks zone'

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

When NASA's Kepler telescope rocketed into the night sky last week, two Berkeley astronomers watching its fading contrail were hoping that the telescope will reveal Earth's — and humanity's — place in the ...


Kepler Set to Launch Tonight

Kepler Set to Launch Tonight on Planet Finding Mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 06, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Kepler spacecraft and its Delta II rocket are "go" for a launch tonight that is expected to light up the sky along Florida's Space Coast at 10:49 p.m. EST as the rocket lifts off from ...


With March 6 Kepler launch, work begins for Berkeley astronomers

With March 6 Kepler launch, work begins for Berkeley astronomers

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Mar 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- When NASA's Kepler telescope rockets into the night sky on Friday, March 6, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, two University of California, Berkeley, astronomers - key members ...