Nasa Begins Hunt For Life On Other Worlds

[efq]

Nasa's "historic mission" to hunt for life on other planets has begun thanks to perfect weather conditions in the US.


The Kepler telescope mission is costing $600m




They allowed the rocket carrying the Kepler telescope to take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida bang on schedule at 3.48am UK time.
The craft - named after the German 17th century astrophysicist Kepler - will search for planets like Earth in one faraway corner of the galaxy.
The telescope, which is fitted with British-made light detectors so powerful it can spot a fly on a car headlight a mile away, will spend more than three years staring at 100,000 stars.
It will measure their brightness and any winks in the light that may signify orbiting planets.

It very possibly could tell us that Earths are very, very common... or that Earths are really, really, really rare - perhaps we're the only Earth.

Nasa space science chief

The $600m mission follows the failed flight of a Nasa science satellite from California a week ago.
"This is a historical mission," said Nasa's space science chief Ed Weiler.
"It really attacks some basic human questions that have been asked since that first man or woman looked up in the sky and asked, 'Are we alone?'"

Once in orbit, Kepler will be aimed at a star-rich swathe of sky between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra in our own Milky Way galaxy.
Scientists have already found more than 340 planets circling stars beyond our solar system, but none is as small as Earth.




Kepler mission graphic


Kepler is the first instrument designed solely to hunt Earth-sized worlds circling their parent stars at the proper distance for liquid water - and therefore possibly life - to exist.
"Kepler is not going to find out about the atmospheres, or whether there is water on these planets," said Gibor Basri, a scientist with the University of California.
"It's really an assay of what the real estate market is out there for rocky planets."

Mr Weiler added: "It very possibly could tell us that Earths are very, very common, that we have lots of neighbours out there.
"Or, it could tell us that Earths are really, really, really rare - perhaps we're the only Earth.

"I think that would be a very bad answer," he added. "I for one, don't want to live in an empty universe where we're the best there is - that's a scary thought to many of us."

Very Interesting, looks like they are focusing mainly on finding some new life and they look like they really want to.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wor...hs_Blasts_Off_

[Anvrew]

It'd be funny if they didn't find anything...
$600m?! Thats ridiculous.

[Jahova]

Very intresting.

[GommeInc]

The telescope, which is fitted with British-made light detectors so powerful it can spot a fly on a car headlight a mile away,

That just doesn't sound THAT amazing to me...

[Anvrew]

That just doesn't sound THAT amazing to me...

IMO, It sounds abit far-fetched.

[Jackk]

so there just looking for planets the same size as earth? even if we cant survive on there? whats the point of the mission?

[e5]

good. I hope they do Will be interesting and very fascinating!!

Point: To see if it exists
:S Obviously?

[Jackk]

to see if another planet is the same size as ours?
what does that achieve?

[J0SH]

I thought it was a massive deodrant can for a minute, and what a waste of money I doubt anyone apart from these scientists really care if there are aliens or whatever, if there is they aren't bothering us so it's all good.