What to know

NASA Launches TESS Mission Onboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

The SpaceX - NASA TESS launch into space

NASA satellite TESS will embarked on a journey in search of for planets that can (or does) support life.

Short for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, NASA sent the TESS satellite into space on Wednesday to survey the skies for planets that support, or could support, life.

The satellite started its journey onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which re-entered Earth and landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after.

The launch took place after a two-day delay for additional testing on guidance and navigation systems.

The TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) - NASA

The TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) – NASA

TESS works by searching for flickers of starlight emitted when planets pass in front of stars they orbit which will hopefully help astronomers log thousands of new planets, hopefully ones that are able to maintain life.

It will survey up to 85 percent of the visible sky while keeping a close look on some 200,000 star systems when it goes online in the coming weeks.

This is not NASA’s first expedition of its kind. TASS is a follow up to the Kepler Space Telescope mission, in hopes to fill the gaps that the Kepler mission left behind.

The Kepler Space Telescope is currently floating on back up energy, burning the little fuel it has left before the mission officially ends.

You can watch the full mission in the video below:

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