Could there be more planets like Earth out in space? With life on them, like us? NASA is keen to find out.<\/p>\n
The launch of a new space observatory, searching for planets beyond our Solar System, may be able to provide the answer.<\/p>\n
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is being rocket launched by NASA next month.<\/p>\n
In its 2-year mission, it\u2019s hoped TESS will discover thousands of exoplanets in orbit around some of the brightest stars in the night sky.<\/p>\n
It will do this by monitoring more than 200,000 stars for temporary drops in brightness with its four identical cameras.<\/p>\n
These drops are caused by a planet moving in front of its parent star when viewed from Earth.<\/p>\n
Once detected, detailed measurements of the planets will be performed.<\/p>\n
This will include planet masses, sizes, densities and atmospheric properties.<\/p>\n
It will survey planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants in a wide range of star types and different orbits.<\/p>\n
TESS is expected to record more than 1500 exoplanet candidates, including a sample of around 500 Earth-sized and \u2018Super Earth\u2019 ones.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s quite a team working towards getting TESS off the ground.<\/p>\n
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is leading the project and handles the cameras that make up TESS.<\/p>\n
Orbital ATK (OA) builds and operates the spacecraft<\/a> from the OA Mission Operations Center.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center looks after project management, systems engineering, safety and mission assurance.<\/p>\n Analysis of the scientific data will take place at the TESS Science Center.<\/p>\n This is a partnership among MIT\u2019s Physics Department and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research as well as the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the NASA Ames Research Center.<\/p>\n A TESS Guest Investigator programme has been set up to allow the community to participate in science investigations using TESS. Many teams have proposed 2-minute cadence targets for analysis and full-frame image data.<\/p>\n All data will be made available through the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) public archive once data processing and validation is complete.<\/p>\n Curtin University\u2019s radio astronomy expert Dr Steven Tingay says TESS follows on from the Kepler Project.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project revolutionised the study of planets outside our Solar System.\u201d<\/p>\n He says Curtin Uni has been using radio telescopes to look at exoplanets and to search for signs of intelligent life at radio wavelengths.<\/p>\n \u201cThis work has used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), and we will continue it with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)<\/a> when it is built.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we will be very interested in looking at what TESS discovers\u2014if it finds good Earth-like candidates close to our Solar System,\u201d Steven says.<\/p>\n Australian telescopes and astronomers are well placed to help follow up discoveries in detail.<\/p>\n Especially for the objects found in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a strong history in exoplanet research, as well as cutting-edge optical and radio telescopes to do the work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He says Australia is now a partner in the European Southern Observatory (ESO)<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralian astronomers will probably use ESO facilities in Chile to undertake detailed follow-up.\u201d<\/p>\n If you are as eager as we are to see what TESS discovers, you can follow the results on the TESS Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This article was originally published on Particle<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\nAustralian poised to follow up on discoveries<\/strong><\/h2>\n