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NASA relays Kepler Space Telescope for retirement
03:40 p
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
WASHINGTON (AFP)
The US space agency said Tuesday that its Kepler space telescope had run out of fuel and would be "removed" from its current orbit, a few months after its 10th anniversary.
NASA said the telescope had spent nearly a decade in space collecting data stating billions of hidden planets. The telescope has discovered more than 2,600 planets outside our solar system, including many promising and viable planets.
NASA deputy director Thomas Zorboshen said Kepler had "far exceeded" the expectations of the agency and "paved the way for our exploration and search for life in and out of the solar system".
Kepler, named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), is no longer able to reorient himself or send data to Earth, officials said. NASA has stated that it will remain in Earth orbit at a safe distance.
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