Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Encyclopedia
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a proposed space telescope by MIT for NASA
's Small Explorer program
. It was not selected for development in the most recent Small Explorer phase A study round. The telescope would conduct a two year long all-sky survey program for exploring transiting exoplanets around nearby and bright stars.
The satellite would be equipped with six (or nine) wide-angle telescopes and CCD
detectors with a total size of 192 megapixels. The observation's data would be processed and stored for three months onboard, and it is planned to transmit only data of interest down to the Earth
. The three month-long storing enables scientists to search within data if an unexpected, transient phenomena (for example a Gamma-ray Burst) is discovered.Google
has provided seed money for the development of the telescopes' sensors and optical systems.
The survey would focus the G and K spectral type stars brighter than 12 magnitudes, approximately 2 million of them would be studied, and the 1,000 closest M-type red dwarf
s (within 30 parsec
s). It is expected to discover 1,000 - 10,000 transiting exoplanets down to the size of the Earth and up to 2 months of period. The candidates could be later investigated by the HARPS spectrometer
and some of them could be targets of the James Webb Space Telescope
. The developer team is optimistic enough to claim that the first interstellar space missions' destinations could be among these stars.
In September 2011, TESS was announced among 11 proposals under consideration for selection, down from the original 22 submitted in February 2011. TESS will receive $1 million to conduct an 11-month mission concept study. Following the detailed mission concept studies, NASA plans to select up to two of the Explorer Mission proposals in February 2013. The missions would then proceed toward flight and some could launch by 2016.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Small Explorer program
Small Explorer program
The Small Explorer program is an effort within NASA to fund space exploration missions that cost no more than $120 million.- Program history :...
. It was not selected for development in the most recent Small Explorer phase A study round. The telescope would conduct a two year long all-sky survey program for exploring transiting exoplanets around nearby and bright stars.
The satellite would be equipped with six (or nine) wide-angle telescopes and CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
detectors with a total size of 192 megapixels. The observation's data would be processed and stored for three months onboard, and it is planned to transmit only data of interest down to the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The three month-long storing enables scientists to search within data if an unexpected, transient phenomena (for example a Gamma-ray Burst) is discovered.Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
has provided seed money for the development of the telescopes' sensors and optical systems.
The survey would focus the G and K spectral type stars brighter than 12 magnitudes, approximately 2 million of them would be studied, and the 1,000 closest M-type red dwarf
Red dwarf
According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool star, of the main sequence, either late K or M spectral type....
s (within 30 parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s). It is expected to discover 1,000 - 10,000 transiting exoplanets down to the size of the Earth and up to 2 months of period. The candidates could be later investigated by the HARPS spectrometer
Spectrometer
A spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...
and some of them could be targets of the James Webb Space Telescope
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope , previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope , is a planned next-generation space telescope, optimized for observations in the infrared. The main technical features are a large and very cold 6.5 meter diameter mirror, an observing position far from Earth,...
. The developer team is optimistic enough to claim that the first interstellar space missions' destinations could be among these stars.
In September 2011, TESS was announced among 11 proposals under consideration for selection, down from the original 22 submitted in February 2011. TESS will receive $1 million to conduct an 11-month mission concept study. Following the detailed mission concept studies, NASA plans to select up to two of the Explorer Mission proposals in February 2013. The missions would then proceed toward flight and some could launch by 2016.