On Friday (30th January) NASA unveiled a modest telescope, which is scheduled for liftoff on March 5. The telescope named Kepler will be launched for a mission to discover if there are any Earth-type planets orbiting distant stars.

 

The telescope is named after the 17th century astronomer Kepler, who figured out the motions of planets. It is scheduled for liftoff on March 5 aboard an unmanned Delta 2 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

 

The telescope is now at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, where it is being prepared for launch. Once in position trailing Earth in orbit, Kepler will spend at least 3-1/2 years in the space. During its stay, it will focus on a star-rich patch of sky between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra.

 

Kepler will attempt to find Earth-sized planets flying across the face of their parent stars with the help of its 95 megapixel camera, the largest ever flown in the space. Interestingly, astronomers have found more than 330 planets circling stars in other solar systems. But none of them has the size and location that is believed to be the key to support life.