The Kepler Space Telescope was launched in 2009 to search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. This revolutionary telescope was designed to detect planets in the habitable zone of their stars, where temperatures are suitable for liquid water to exist on the surface of the planet. The telescope was also designed to measure
The Kepler space telescope was a space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit. The principal investigator was William J. Borucki. After nine and a half years of operation, the telescope's reaction control system fuel was depleted, and NASA announced its retirement on October 30, 2018.