Thank you, Kepler! NASA's "Exoplanet Hunter" Will Say Goodbye Soon

The Kepler space telescope, launched in 2009 to help scientists find potentially habitable rocky bodies like Earth, is saying goodbye. The spacecraft continuously swept around 150, 000 stars and found no less than 4, 500 exoplanets and candidates across the Milky Way. Once you have accomplished your missions with merit, it is time for retirement: your fuel is running out and soon it will be inactive.

The Kepler was designed to have a partially filled tank that could carry it for six years. However, after weighing in, the engineers found that it was a few pounds below the limit, which allowed them to add more fuel and has been around for so long. In 2013, he even suffered a casualty. The second of the four reaction wheels, essential for orientation, failed, which diminished its accuracy. However, scientists have found a way to stabilize the vehicle using solar pressure and so the derivative K2 was born.

The ship is in an orbit around the sun, which prevents refueling. Solar panels only serve to power your electronic components. Since it is the thrusters that help maintain orientation and allow the maneuver to transmit data to Earth, without fuel this will no longer be possible and therefore NASA will turn off its communications.

But you needn't cry: your successor, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is set for release on April 16, ready to continue work. Even so, Kepler / K2 already has a place stored in our hearts. Thank you, Kepler!