Images: NASA's Kepler to seek Earth-like planets
A Friday evening launch will send the Kepler spacecraft out into the Milky Way on a mission to discover places that might support life as we know it.
Kepler engineering rendition
Kepler will be in search of orbs like Earth: "rocky planets that orbit sun-like stars in a warm zone where liquid water could be maintained on the surface," according to NASA. In other words, it's looking for places where life might be possible.
Kepler solar array
The business end of Kepler is its photometer, a 0.95-meter telescope with a field of view of 105 square degrees--"comparable," NASA says, "to the area of your hand held at arm's length." Such a relatively large field of view for an astronomical telescope is needed so that Kepler can monitor the brightness of 100,000 stars.
Technical check
Kepler Search Space
Field of view
Focal plane array
CCD close-up
Primary mirror (glossy)
Primary mirror (honeycomb)
Kepler atop rocket
Liftoff for Kepler is scheduled for 10:49 p.m. EST on Friday.