NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

Jack Hilton
Period B Engineering
5/3/18

What is TESS?
NASA's latest project in search of uncovering unknown planets is finally ready for launch after being proposed in 2009. This project is known as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or TESS for short. TESS is the first all-sky exoplanet survey, and a satellite observatory with 4 different cameras that has been designed to hopefully discover no less than 50, yet to be discovered, potential Earth-like worlds.
What's Next?
Scientists and astronomers at NASA designed TESS to be more effective than the Kepler space telescope that was launched in 2009. The Kepler was able to locate stars thousands of light years away inside the constellations Cygnus, Lyra, and Draco. Thus far astronomers have identified 2341 exoplanets circling stars in view of Kepler. Most of the targets for TESS are not nearly as far away as Kepler's, almost all are within 300 light years from Earth. The plan is that when TESS locates an exoplanet and the stars it orbits, then through the transits by TESS scientists will be able to tell the surface of the planet, liquid, gas, rock, etc, and other vital aspects such as the temperature. TESS is ultimately in search of finding a planet that is similar to Earth in that it is inhabitable.





Why is this Interesting?
The launch of TESS on April 18, 2018 is very interesting because it will be in search of Earth-like planets. The TESS satellite will certainly be one for people to keep their eye on because it could very well make historical discoveries in the near future. This is not NASA's first attempt at trying to find untapped planets, but it does seem like it could be a successful one. Of the planets that we know of right now none are inhabitable so it would be crazy to find one that could sustain human life much like the Earth.

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