Kepler Space Telescope

space exploration · exoplanets · astronomy

Found thousands of planets. Kepler discovered over 2,600 exoplanets during its mission, completely changing how we understand planets beyond our solar system. Many of these were Earth-sized worlds we'd never even imagined before.

Hunted for Earth twins. The telescope's main job was to search for planets similar in size to Earth orbiting distant stars, which might have conditions suitable for life.

Launched in 2009. Kepler blasted into space on March 6, 2009, and settled into a special orbit that followed Earth around the sun, giving it a perfect spot to observe faraway stars.

Named after a genius. The telescope was named after Johannes Kepler, a brilliant astronomer from the 1600s who figured out how planets move around the sun.

Retired in 2018. After running out of fuel for its control systems, NASA said goodbye to Kepler on October 30, 2018, after nine and a half years of amazing discoveries.