Kepler Space Telescope in Emergency Mode – IOTW Report

Kepler Space Telescope in Emergency Mode

Launched in 2009, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has been leading the search for exoplanets.

Kepler_spacecraft_artist_render_(crop)

Kepler was scheduled to begin a new search starting April 7 but it’s entered emergency operation mode and will not resume normal operations until engineers figure out what is wrong.

The space telescope already suffers from problems with reaction wheels that are used to focus, and has had to use sunlight to compensate for the loss.

More

The current search campaign is based on gravitational microlensing technique that won’t be possible for the telescope after July 1. Scientists will be unable to make up for the days lost trying to get the satellite to function.

4 Comments on Kepler Space Telescope in Emergency Mode

Comments are closed.