Happy 2nd Anniversary! TESS, An MIT-led NASA Mission, Was Launched On April 18, 2018 Aboard A SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Out Of Cape Canaveral.

Saturday, April 18, 2020
by MKI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tess Launch Footage (NASA Goddard Media Studios)

Looking back at TESS highlights covered by MIT:

August 4, 2017
TESS mission to discover new planets moves toward launch. Satellite’s cameras have been delivered by MIT researchers and passed NASA inspection.

April 12, 2018
TESS readies for takeoff. Satellite developed by MIT aims to discover thousands of nearby exoplanets, including at least 50 Earth-sized ones.

May 3, 2018
Ushering in the next phase of exoplanet discovery. Professor Sara Seager previews a new era of discovery as a leader of the TESS mission, which is expected to find some 20,000 extrasolar planets.

May 18, 2018
TESS takes initial test image. Exoplanet-seeking satellite developed by MIT swings by moon toward final orbit.

June 20, 2018
Nearly 80 exoplanet candidates identified in record time. Search considered successful “dress rehearsal” for exoplanet hunter TESS.

January 7, 2019
TESS discovers its third new planet, with longest orbit yet. Measurements indicate a dense, gaseous, “sub-Neptune” world, three times the size of Earth.

April 16, 2019
TESS discovers its first Earth-sized planet. Orbiting a nearby star, the new planet is the smallest identified so far by the TESS mission.

July 29, 2019
TESS discovers three new planets nearby, including temperate “sub-Neptune”. Planetary system orbiting an unusually quiet star is ideal for future habitability searches.

August 19, 2019
Rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet is missing an atmosphere. Study reports on search for an atmosphere around a planet somewhat similar to ours.

September 12, 2019
TESS team is awarded NASA’s Silver Achievement Medal. The honor recognizes the “stellar achievement” of the people behind the exoplanet-seeking satellite.

 

For additional information, visit MIT TESS and NASA TESS Exoplanet Mission