It ’s ultimately occur . NASA has foretell that its Kepler telescope may have seen its last exoplanet , as the spacecraft has now all but run out of fuel .
In astatement , NASA say its Kepler telescope would end its late hunt for exoplanets , and apply its continue fuel to get off its skill datum back to Earth . If fuel levels are as low as thought , this means Kepler ’s hunt for planets will terminate .
“ NASA ’s Kepler team has received datum showing that the spacecraft ’s power to point precisely has degraded , ” the agencysaid . “ to preserve high - value science data collected during its latest observation campaign , the Kepler team has placed the spacecraft in a static , no - fuel - use sleep fashion . ”
Kepler was find planets beyond our Solar System as part of its Observation Campaign 19 , which began on August 29 . For 27 days it watch over thousands of stars , see for dips in brightness level as planets passed in front , bang as the transit method acting .
A small number of these stars were already have a go at it to have exoplanets , including theTRAPPIST-1 organization , which contains seven world - sized planets . However , the bulk of the whizz were those that were n’t known to have satellite .
With the telescoperunning out of fuel , NASA is eager to get as much data from it as possible . Positioned 150 million kilometers ( 93 million international mile ) from Earth , Kepler require fuel to point itself back to our major planet and ship data point our style . Without fuel , it can no longer do this .
Kepler will send this information back to Earth between October 10 and 15 , with the telescope being kept in safe mode until then . But thismight not be the endof the mission wholly – if the spacecraft successfully direct back all its information , NASA will essay to get new planet as part of Observation Campaign 20 .
Even if it can no longer look at planets , there will be plenty more discovery to come in from Kepler . Scientists will still need to pore through its data , which will take age , with many more satellite expected to be found .
But if the scope can no longer point itself towards other star , this will intend this latest quite a little from political campaign 19 stop the last planet Kepler will ever see . And that ’s a huge loss for exoplanet science .
Kepler has almost single - handedly ignited the theater of exoplanet scientific discipline . Since it launch in 2009 it has found more than 2,600 worlds beyond our Solar System , the immense majority of exoplanets we have discovered .
NASA launched a Modern planet hunter , theTransiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite(TESS ) , before this year to take over the rein . But the loss of Kepler will bring an ending to a polar chapter in the history of receive novel world . So long , and thanks for all the major planet .
