NASA's biggest-ever hunt for alien planets is finally underway — and the agency expects to discover 'strange, fantastic worlds'

NASA

• NASA launched a new planet-hunting space telescope in April using a SpaceX rocket.
• The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), as the spacecraft is called, could discover thousands of worlds fairly close to Earth.
• Scientists also expect to find about 50 small, rocky planets that may be habitable to alien life.
• TESS began its two-year mission to hunt for exoplanets on July 25 and may reel in its first candidates for new worlds this week.

NASA launched its most powerful planet-hunting telescope to date on April 18, but it's taken the spacecraft months of maneuvering to reach a crucial sweet spot.

On July 25, TESS — short for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite — finally slipped into a unique orbit between Earth and the moon. The telescope is now starting to scan 85% of the night sky, stare down distant solar systems, and hunt for small, rocky, Earth-like planets.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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