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NASA announced today (6) that it would put the Kepler spacecraft into standby mode for about a month. According to the US Space Agency, the decision was made after the spacecraft team observed a drastic drop in tank pressure, which would indicate that the reserves were very low – already reported by the institution itself.
According to an official publication, Kepler will be "accepted" on August 2, so that data collected over the last 51 days can be downloaded. Since May 12, the probe has focused its lenses and sensors in the direction of the constellation of Cancer – especially in a part of the sky in which researchers believe that there might be exoplanets (planets in orbit around the Sun).
Once the data is sent, Kepler will begin a new process of observation and collection, scheduled for August 6.
Launched on March 7, 2009, Kepler has significantly exceeded NASA's three-year shelf life. In total, the probe can already confirm the existence of 2,650 planets outside the solar system – which, according to the agency, should result in "more than 1,000 scientific publications" over the next few years.
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