Kepler's done two missions and its data is still being analyzed. But there are other missions hunting for exoplanets, and they'll be joined by TESS, the new kid on the block. TESS is NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and it was launched in April 18.
TESS will use a series of thruster burns to boost it into a high-Earth, highly elliptical orbit. A lunar gravity assist maneuver will allow it to reach a previously untried stable orbit with half the orbital period of the Moon and a maximum distance from Earth of about 373,000 kilometers (232,000 miles). From there, TESS will carry out a two year survey to search for planets around the brightest and closest stars in the sky.
TESS launch close upImage Credit & Copyright: John Kraus
Description: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)