NASA is determined to find new planets and launched a spacecraft and satellite from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday to start its latest quest.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was launched with the FalconX to orbit around the earth for at least two years to search for other planets by examining stars at least a dozen light years away, The Associated Press reported.
“Tess will tell us where to look at and when to look,” said George Ricker, the chief scientist for the project from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. TESS’ research will pave the way for future experiments that can be studied with the James Webb Space Telescope in the upcoming years. (RELATED: NASA: The First Person That Goes To Mars Should Be A Woman)
“We are thrilled TESS is on its way to help us discover worlds we have yet to imagine, worlds that could possibly be habitable, or harbor life,” added Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, according to NASA’s official website. TESS’s design was not to look for life, however, it will look for planets that can possibly support life due to a water supply. (RELATED: NASA Captured 3D Scans Of Jupiter’s Cyclones And They’re Terrifyingly Awesome [VIDEO])
TESS’ launch follows the initial research of NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope which discovered thousands of exoplanets, a planet outside the solar system, since 2009. Researchers believe that TESS will more than double the number.
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