Friday was the big day for the launch of the spaceship/telescope Kepler, as it successfully soared into space with the goal of finding planets similar to earth.
The Kepler mission, which will cost close to $600 million over a 3.5-year period, will gaze at about 150,000 stars close to the constellations Lyra and Cygnus.
Goals for the initiative are to search for planets that are in what is called the "habitable zone," which would require the presence of liquid water on the surface of the planet.
The major difference between Kepler and the existing Hubble Space Telescope is that the Hubble’s field of view is far smaller than Kepler’s, with Kepler able to widen its viewing range by 33,000 times over Hubble’s viewing range.
Planet-Seeking Spaceships
NASA Looks for New Earths with Launch of Kepler
Trend Themes
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3. Habitable Zone Exploration - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop methods to identify and analyze exoplanets with conditions suitable for life.
Industry Implications
1. Aerospace - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Pioneer the development of next-generation space telescopes and exploration technologies.
2. Astrobiology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Research and develop tools and techniques to study the potential habitability of exoplanets.
3. Space Exploration - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore new methods and technologies for human colonization of habitable exoplanets.