NASA has launched a new mission to explore the unknown. The mission, called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is designed to search for planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets.
TESS will use four wide-field cameras to survey the sky for two years, looking for exoplanets that transit, or pass in front of, their host stars. The mission will focus on stars that are 30 to 300 light-years away from Earth, and will look for planets that are between Earth and Neptune in size.
TESS is expected to find thousands of exoplanets, some of which may be capable of supporting life. The mission will also provide valuable data on stars, which can be used to better understand stellar evolution and the formation of planetary systems.
The mission is part of NASA’s ongoing effort to explore the universe and search for signs of life beyond Earth. TESS is the latest in a series of missions that have been launched to explore the unknown, including the Kepler mission, which has discovered thousands of exoplanets since its launch in 2009.
TESS is expected to launch in 2018 and will be operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The mission is part of NASA’s Explorers Program, which is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for scientific investigations.
The mission is an exciting step forward in our exploration of the universe, and will help us to better understand our place in the cosmos. With TESS, we may be able to answer some of the most fundamental questions about our universe, and perhaps even find evidence of life beyond Earth.