NASA New Worlds Mission

Kepler Mission Is a NASA Space Telescope Designed to Discover Earth-like Planets Orbiting Other Stars. Using a space Photometer Developed by NASA, it will observe the brightness of over 100,000 stars over 3.5 years to detect periodic Transits of a star by its planets as it orbits our Sun. The mission is named in honor of German astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Objectives :

· Determine how many terrestrial and larger planets there are in or near the habitable Zone of a wide variety of spectral types of stars.

· Determine the range of sizes and shapes of the orbits of these planets.

· Estimate how many planets there are in multiple-star systems.

· Determine the range of orbit size, brightness, size, mass and density of short-period giant planets.

· Identify additional members of each discovered planetary system using other techniques.

· Determine the properties of those stars that harbor planetary systems.

There are three possibilities for the New Worlds Mission:

1. New Worlds Discoverer would use either an existing space telescope (like the soon to be launched James Webb telescope), or a several meter diameter visible light telescope dedicated to finding exoplanets. The size of the starshade could be optimized for the observing telescope. The possibility of two starshades is also a consideration. One starshade to point towards the desired target while the other moves into position for the next target. This would eliminate the time delay in observing different systems and allow for many more targets to be observed in the same timespan.
2. New Worlds Observer would use two spacecraft and two starshades increase the angular resolution and allow better analysis of the exoplanet's composition
3. New Worlds Imager would use five spacecraft/starshades. This would allow observers to resolve the planet and obtain true planetary imaging.

General information:

· Organization:NASA

· Contractor : Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp

· Launch date : March 7, 2009 03:49:57.465 UTC

· Launched from : Space Launch Complex 17-BCape Canaveral Air Force

· Station.

· Launch vehicle :Delta II.

· Mission length : 3.5 years

· Mass : 1,039 kilograms

· Type of orbit : Earth-trailing heliocentric

Status:

The observatory was launched on March 7, 2009 at 03:49:57 UTC (March 6, 10:49:57 EST) aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.The launch was a complete success and all three stages were successfully completed by 04:55 UTC. The spacecraft will be in a commissioning phase for approximately 60 days, undergoing calibration and testing before beginning scientific observation. It has so far returned good readings and calibration of the photometer has begun.