Kepler goes into standby mode as the telescope's pointing performance deteriorates

NASA's Kepler team received data showing that the spacecraft's ability to point accurately had deteriorated. In order to preserve the valuable scientific data collected during its last observation campaign, the Kepler team placed the spacecraft in stable standby mode and without the use of fuel.

During the time allotted to the Kepler Deep Space Network, which will begin Oct. 10, the Kepler team will "wake up" the spacecraft and ask it to direct its large antenna towards Earth and to transmit the scientific data. Due to the uncertainties of the available fuel, there is no guarantee that NASA will be able to download the scientific data. If successful, the Kepler team will attempt to start the next observation campaign with the remaining fuel.

NASA predicts that the spacecraft will soon run out of fuel, but we do not know how much is left of it. The goal of NASA is to collect and connect as much scientific data as possible while the spacecraft remains viable.

The latest Kepler observation campaign, Campaign 19, began Aug. 29 after changing the spacecraft configuration in order to adapt to a change in propeller performance. Over the next 27 days, Kepler observed more than 30,000 stars and galaxies in the constellation Aquarius. The stars included dozens of known and suspected exoplanet systems, including the well-known TRAPPIST-1 system with its seven Earth-sized planets.

While engineers strive to preserve the data stored aboard the spacecraft, scientists continue to leverage existing data already in the field. A recent recent discovery is Wolf 503b, a nearby planet the size of a super-Earth gravitating around a bright star. At about twice the size of the Earth, Wolf 503b is representative of the most common size of the planet Kepler found in the galaxy. However, since there are no planets of this size in our own solar system, we still have a lot to learn about planets of this size. Since Wolf 503b is nearby and gravitating around a bright star, it is particularly well suited for later observations made with other telescopes that will help solve the mystery of planets of this size.

Launched in March 2009, NASA's first planet fighter confirmed more than 2,600 planets beyond the solar system.

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NASA's Kepler probe pauses scientific observations to download scientific data