NASA Attempts to Rescue Planet-Hunting Telescope

NASA has initiated recovery efforts to salvage its space telescope, which is dedicated to the search for exoplanets beyond our solar system. The mission, valued at $600 million, commenced on Thursday and is expected to continue for a week. However, it will not be until later this month at the earliest that mission managers will ascertain whether the Kepler spacecraft can resume its quest for Earth-like planets.

Approximately two months ago, Kepler encountered a setback when it lost the functionality of its second wheel out of the four that control its positioning in space. In order to rectify this issue, engineers have devised a plan to send commands in an attempt to restore the functionality of the malfunctioning wheels.

Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has successfully confirmed the existence of 134 planets and identified over 3,200 potential candidates. In the event that Kepler cannot be revived, scientists have expressed confidence in their ability to analyze the years’ worth of data collected thus far.

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