Kepler rockets to space in search of Earth analogues
Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 06:07
in Astronomy & Space
At 3:49 GMT today, 7 March, NASA's Kepler mission successfully launched into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II. Kepler is designed to find the first Earth analogues orbiting stars at distances where water could pool on the planet's surface. Liquid water is believed to be essential for the formation of life. By the end of Kepler's three-and-one-half-year mission, it will give us a good idea of how common or rare other Earths are in our Milky Way galaxy...