NASA launches satellite that will search for planets that could support life

NASA successfully launched on Wednesday a satellite intended to survey the cosmos for new planets, the agency said. 

The satellite, known as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), blasted off on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday evening, after its initial launch date on Monday was delayed.

The satellite’s mission: to search for exoplanets — planets that are outside our solar system — capable of harboring life.

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In particular, TESS is charged with discovering transiting exoplanets. Those are planets outside our solar system that periodically block part of the light from the stars that they orbit.

Monitoring transits allows scientists to study certain characteristics of planets that are too far away to physically examine.

That part of its mission will last about two years. The satellite will use its fuel to reach orbit around the Earth with a gravitational assist from the moon, allowing it serve out a longer-term mission, as well.

TESS will pick up the work of the Kepler Telescope, which is running out of fuel. Kepler was launched in 2009 and has discovered more than 4,500 possible or confirmed exoplanets.