Last stop before launch: Orion passes tests and returns to Kennedy Space Center

The Orion spacecraft that will fly on the Artemis 1 mission around the Moon has returned to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, after finishing space environment tests. The spacecraft, including ESA's European Service Module, is now at its final destination before launch. Orion spent four months at NASA's Plum Brook station where it was subjected to the vacuum and temperatures of -175C to 75C it will experience on its flight to the Moon. After proving its space-worthiness, the electronics - including the thousands of parameters and functions of the European Service Module that control the engines, electrical power and steering the solar panels to face the Sun - were checked for electromagnetic interference. ESA's Dominique Siruguet from the European Service Module integration and verification team says "The tests were successful and the behaviour of the vehicle was good, passing all requirements." Plum Brook station was chosen for the tests because thermal vacuum and electromagnetic compatibility could be performed in the same facility. This avoided additional transport of Orion, which is the size of a two-story house. Having passed its trials, the spacecraft was wrapped and moved by truck to an airport in Ohio for its return flight on NASA's Super Guppy aircraft.

Adding wings to Orion
The tests are not completely over for Orion, at Kennedy Space Center the crew module will be further prepared and more leak tests conducted. The European Service Module has tanks for fuel, oxygen and water that are critical for the astronauts. The gas tanks are pressurised and are connected to many pipes and valves, so it vital to make sure there are no leaks.

The solar wings that generate power during its mission will be installed, as well as protective covers called the Spacecraft Adapter Jettisoned fairings for the intense moments of launch on the world's most powerful rocket.

Later this year ESA will formally transfer ownership of the European Service Module to NASA and the spacecraft will move into the ground system phase where it will be united with the SLS rocket for a lift-off to the Moon.

Orion is a key component of Artemis 1 - an uncrewed test flight around the Moon that paves the way for the Artemis 3 mission, which will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024. ESA is designing and supplying the European Service Module for the Orion spacecraft. This provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen. It also keeps the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course, propelling it to the Moon and back once it has separated from the launcher.

Paired with super telescopes, model Earths guide hunt for life

Cornell University astronomers have created five models representing key points from our planet's evolution, like chemical snapshots through Earth's own geologic epochs. The models will be spectral templates for astronomers to use in the approaching new era of powerful telescopes, and in the hunt for Earth-like planets in distant solar systems. "These new generation of space- and ground-based telescopes coupled with our models will allow us to identify planets like our Earth out to about 50 to 100 light-years away," said Lisa Kaltenegger, associate professor of astronomy and director of the Carl Sagan Institute. For the research and model development, Kaltenegger, doctoral student Jack Madden and Zifan Lin authored "High-Resolution Transmission Spectra of Earth through Geological Time," published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. "Using our own Earth as the key, we modeled five distinct Earth epochs to provide a template for how we can characterize a potential exo-Earth - from a young, prebiotic Earth to our modern world," she said. "The models also allow us to explore at what point in Earth's evolution a distant observer could identify life on the universe's 'pale blue dots' and other worlds like them." Kaltenegger and her team created atmospheric models that match the Earth of 3.9 billion years ago, a prebiotic Earth, when carbon dioxide densely cloaked the young planet. A second throwback model chemically depicts a planet free of oxygen, an anoxic Earth, going back 3.5 billion years. Three other models reveal the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere from a 0.2% concentration to modern-day levels of 21%.

"Our Earth and the air we breathe have changed drastically since Earth formed 4.5 billions years ago," Kaltenegger said, "and for the first time, this paper addresses how astronomers trying to find worlds like ours, could spot young to modern Earth-like planets in transit, using our own Earth's history as a template."

In Earth's history, the timeline of the rise of oxygen and its abundancy is not clear, Kaltenegger said. But, if astronomers can find exoplanets with nearly 1% of Earth's current oxygen levels, those scientists will begin to find emerging biology, ozone and methane - and can match it to ages of the Earth templates.

"Our transmission spectra show atmospheric features, which would show a remote observer that Earth had a biosphere as early as about 2 billion years ago," Kaltenegger said.

Using forthcoming telescopes like NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in March 2021, or the Extremely Large Telescope in Antofagasta, Chile, scheduled for first light in 2025, astronomers could watch as an exoplanet transits in front of its host star, revealing the planet's atmosphere.

"Once the exoplanet transits and blocks out part of its host star, we can decipher its atmospheric spectral signatures," Kaltenegger said. "Using Earth's geologic history as a key, we can more easily spot the chemical signs of life on the distant exoplanets."

NASA suspends work on Moon rocket due to virus

NASA said it has suspended work on building and testing the rocket and capsule for its Artemis manned mission to the Moon due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the community. The space agency is shutting down its Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the Space Launch System rocket is being built, and the nearby Stennis Space Center, administrator Jim Bridenstine said late Thursday. "The change at Stennis was made due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the community around the center, the number of self-isolation cases within our workforce there, and one confirmed case among our Stennis team," he said. "NASA will temporarily suspend production and testing of Space Launch System and Orion hardware. The NASA and contractors teams will complete an orderly shutdown that puts all hardware in a safe condition until work can resume." The Space Launch System is a powerful deep space rocket to transport astronauts to the Moon and beyond while Orion is the crew module. The virus outbreak could hit US plans to return to the Moon by 2024. "We realize there will be impacts to NASA missions, but as our teams work to analyze the full picture and reduce risks we understand that our top priority is the health and safety of the NASA workforce," Bridenstine said.

A manned return to the Moon is the first part of the Artemis program to set up a long-term colony and test technologies for a crewed mission to Mars in the 2030s.

China develops new system to quickly find fallen rocket debris

China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center Wednesday announced the development of a new positioning system that can greatly shorten the time searching for rocket debris. The system has proved efficient in seeking out fallen rocket pieces after the center launched the 54th BeiDou satellite into space on March 9. The satellite was sent into space by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. With the guidance of the system, the center staff just spent 25 minutes finding the rocket boosters, while in the past, it would take them several hours or even half a month to complete such a task. Unlike many countries' launch pads, which are typically located along coastlines, China's major launch sites are deep inland, which means its rockets always fly directly over densely populated areas. Therefore, after launches, rocket boosters and other pieces will fall back to the ground, threatening local communities. This year the country will continue to see intensive space launches. How to make the rocket debris recovery precise and controllable has become an urgent problem for Chinese scientists. According to Yao Shengsheng, head of the system development team, after the rocket boosters were separated on March 9 in the latest BeiDou satellite launch mission, equipment in the center immediately received the boosters' falling trajectory data. The system then quickly calculated and located the drop point.

"It was the first time the system realized real-time data reception, processing and display of rocket debris in a mission," Yao said.

"The system is a breakthrough and will provide technical support for staff to quickly find falling boosters," Yao said.

The Xichang center, which administers the Xichang and Wenchang launch sites, is located in mountainous Sichuan Province. It will undertake about 20 missions in 2020, including the maiden flight of the Long March-5B rocket, the launch of China's first Mars probe and the completion of the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System.

Citizen scientists enlisted to chart galaxies

A study of spiral structure, reduced in complexity so citizen scientists can participate, could offer insight into how galaxies evolve, researchers say. Researchers at the North Carolina Museum on Natural Sciences in Raleigh used software and tracings of known spiral galaxies on paper, and found that no artificial intelligence program, algorithm or other approach was as accurate in depicting the winding-arm design of galaxies. The work, called Spiral Graph, has been described in a paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and is available to citizen scientists at Zooniverse.org for no charge. "These human-generated tracings give our software a boost so it can accurately measure how tightly wrapped the structure [of the galaxy] is," Patrick Treuthardt of the museum said in a press release. The degree of wrapping of the spiral arms is called the pitch angle -- a spiral with tightly wrapped arms has a small pitch angle, while one with open arms has a large pitch angle. If researchers know the pitch angle, Treuhardt said, they can easily estimate the parameters of other features of galaxies, as well as identify galaxies for follow-up telescope observations.

Spiral galaxies comprise the majority of the galaxies in the nearby universe. In many of these galaxies, the difference in brightness between the winding arms and the inter-arm regions is very subtle, confusing automated approaches of measurement to the point that bright foreground stars can skew an analysis.

Computer algorithms have difficulty determining where spirals begin and end -- but that's not a problem for a human tracing a photograph -- hence the citizen scientist project.

An estimated 6,000 galaxies, of millions, have been graphed thus far, making the project ideal for amateur astronomers.

Iodine as alternative propellant for electric propulsion

iFACT (iodine Fed Advanced Cusp field Thruster) project was successfully launched in Friedrichshafen, Germany in January 2020. Funded by the European Commission as part of its Horizon 2020 Programme, the 2M euro project will run for 24 months. iFACT aims to further develop iodine as alternative propellant for electric propulsion by creating a European ground test infrastructure, further development of the Advanced Cusp Field Thruster (ACFT) principle, and generating a detailed iodine - material compatibility library. The unique thruster principle paired with the use of iodine as propellant and a tailored feeding architecture has the potential to significantly change the space sector. The iFACT subsystem enables a serious reduction of subsystem mass, in particular the dry mass required for the propellant feeding along with the cost and volume savings of the propellant itself. The program will foster the use of iodine for in space propulsion by tackling main questions, marks such as iodine corrosion impacts to the satellite platform through extensive material testing; it further aims to develop an iodine compatible cathode/neutralizer including a dedicated investigation towards calcium aluminate as potential low work function emitter candidate. Due to the creation of an independent European iodine compatible test infrastructure especially tailored for long firing tests, the development of iodine based propulsion systems will be enhanced even for parties that are not participating in the iFACT program directly.

iFACT intends to examine developing variations of EP subsystems besides the main 300 W version. In this content, a 10 W subsystem will be experimentally validated enabling the fast and cost-efficient demonstration of key technologies. Furthermore, a 1000 W iFACT upscaled laboratory model will be tested in addition to the other development lines.

With iFACT, Europe can become the leader with respect to iodine as xenon successor as well as a provider of efficient, but very low-cost electric propulsion subsystems. With this in mind iFACT has the ambition to enable future European small satellite constellations.

The project is coordinated by Airbus Germany and involves 7 partners with different areas of expertise from several European States. The iFACT partners are Airbus France, EASN-TIS (Belgium), University of Southampton (UK), Fraunhofer IKTS (Germany), Aerospazio Technologie (Italy), University of Giessen (Germany) and EnduroSat (Bulgaria).

SpaceX plans Sunday launch from Florida to boost Starlink satellite count

SpaceX is aiming for a Sunday morning launch of its sixth cluster of 60 Starlink satellites from Florida after pushing the launch back by one day. Liftoff is planned for 9:22 a.m. on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the company's Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The mission would boost the number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 362, by far the largest known satellite constellation. The mission has a 90 percent likelihood of good launch weather and no significant problems in the recovery zone for the booster landing, according to the Air Force weather forecast. Starlink satellites are roughly the size of a large dinner table, each weighting over 500 pounds. The space firm launched 60 Starlink satellites at a time in May, November, on Jan. 6 and 29 and Feb. 17, with two test satellites launched before that. The spacecraft are stacked in the rocket nosecone, using a flat-panel design that minimizes volume. If all continues on track for Starlink, 100 or more such Starlink launches could occur in the next few years. SpaceX intends ultimately to launch thousands of satellites to beam broadband around the globe to provide high-speed Internet everywhere, even in extreme weather or aboard high-speed jets. Despite the fast pace of launches, little is known about Starlink's eventual business strategy, said Shagun Sachdeva, a satellite analyst with Northern Sky Research.

"Starlink is a bit of a black hole right now. They are not sharing much information," Sachdeva said. "We do know there is interest from the U.S. military, and we believe most of their revenue will come from there rather than commercial customers."

Sachdeva noted recent reports saying SpaceX is valued at $36 billion.

"Most of the company's value is because of Elon Musk, not Starlink or their products. He is a good brand now," she said. "No investors are directly funding Starlink. Company leadership has said it is funding the constellation itself."

Starlink has drawn some concern from astronomers and stargazers who have seen the satellites as they reflect sunlight. In response, SpaceX launched a satellite in January with a non-reflective coating, to see if it is less visible on the ground.

The company has said it could take months before they can evaluate the coating. SpaceX didn't respond to a request for an update.

The satellites orbit about 340 miles above the Earth. By comparison, the Karman line that defines space is 62 miles high, and the International Space Station is more than 250 miles high.

The Starlink satellites detach from the rocket's second stage at an altitude of about 180 miles. SpaceX engineers then conduct data reviews to ensure all Starlink satellites are operating as intended. Once the checkouts are complete, the satellites use onboard ion thrusters to move into the final orbit height.

SpaceX competitors plan their own new satellite constellations, including OneWeb and Jeff Bezos' Amazon. SpaceX has said it is leveraging its experience in building rockets and spacecraft to deploy what it describes as the world's most advanced broadband Internet system in Starlink.

China launches new BeiDou navigation satellite

China launched a new satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 7:55 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), only one step away from completing the whole global system. The satellite, the 54th of the BeiDou family, was sent into a geostationary orbit as planned by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. China began to construct its navigation system, named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper constellation, in the 1990s and started serving the Asia-Pacific Region in 2012. At present, all the first generation BDS-1 satellites have ended operations, and a total of 54 BDS-2 and BDS-3 satellites have been sent into space. Compared with other navigation systems in the world, the design of the BDS constellation is unique, including medium earth orbit, inclined geosynchronous earth orbit and geostationary earth orbit satellites. The BDS-3 system will consist of a total of 30 satellites, including 24 medium earth orbit satellites, three geostationary earth orbit satellites and three inclined geosynchronous earth orbit satellites. The newly launched satellite is the second geostationary earth orbit satellite of the BDS-3 system, and the last one is expected to be launched in May. The satellite and the carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, respectively.

Space engineers have overcome difficulties during the novel coronavirus epidemic to ensure the success of the mission.

Monday's launch was the 327th mission of the Long March rocket series.

The new satellite has the most functions and signals, the largest size and the longest designed life span among all the BDS-3 satellites, said Chen Zhonggui, chief designer of BDS-3 satellites from CAST.

The satellite is based on the Dongfanghong-3B platform, currently one of the largest satellite platforms being used in China, and can carry more fuels to ensure its long life, said Chen.

The satellite has integrated the functions of navigation and communication. The accuracy of dynamic positioning can reach the decimeter level, according to Liu Tianxiong, deputy chief designer of BDS-3 satellites.

It can provide services for the driverless vehicles, accurate berthing of ships, as well as takeoff and landing of airplanes. It will be widely used in the fields of communication, electric power, finance, mapping, transportation, fishery, agriculture and forestry.

The ability of short message communication has been improved 10 times on this satellite. Users can send a message of over 1,000 Chinese characters at one time as well as pictures via the satellite, quite useful in emergencies.

The satellite's ability to receive signals has also been greatly improved, which could help miniaturize users' terminals, said Pan Yuqian, one of the satellite's designers.

China aims to complete the construction of the BDS constellation in May and provide high-precision, reliable positioning, navigation and timing services anywhere in the world.

Orbion and Xplore partner to accelerate deep space exploration

Orbion Space Technology told SpaceDaily that it has formed a partnership with Xplore Inc to provide "Space As A Service". Orbion will build and deliver its plasma propulsion system to Xplore over the next six years. By innovating the manufacturing process to achieve new high-volume production standards, Orbion and Xplore will deliver the efficiency and affordability necessary to accelerate launch cadence for deep space exploration. This partnership comes on the heels of Xplore announcing its plans to commercialize the inner solar system, for which the company has been rigorously developing its platform and multi-mission Xcraft - an ESPA-class space vehicle, whose first Moon Xpedition is planned for 2021. The Xcraft is exquisitely designed for space travel, and Orbion's Aurora Hall-effect propulsion system will be key to sending orbital missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, and beyond. Both Orbion and Xplore are implementing unique, end-to-end manufacturing techniques into their production models to reduce cost and development times while preserving the high reliability needed for challenging deep space missions. The manufacturing techniques integrate assembly-line production and robotic acceptance testing perfected in high-volume production environments. This concerted approach will unlock unprecedented levels of speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in producing and launching space missions to Earth orbit and beyond.

Xplore's commercial model for space provides increased flight opportunities to destinations in the inner solar system.

Lisa Rich, Founder and COO of Xplore Inc., said, "Together with Orbion, we share the strategic vision of introducing efficiencies, modularity, repeatability, and high-quality manufacturing processes wherever possible to consistently and reliably produce our high-performance Xcraft. We will fly at an increased cadence to meet and exceed the demands of our growing customer base."

"Private launch companies such as SpaceX and Rocket Lab have shown that they can carry spacecraft on the 300-mile journey from Earth to orbit for a fraction of the cost of legacy rockets - opening space up for business.

"Orbion's plasma thrusters can take over from there and transport Xplore's spacecraft through the 'last 20 million miles' to their destination," said Dr. Brad King, CEO of Orbion Space Technology. "We are honored that Xplore has put their trust in our technology for this demanding and exciting journey."

Axiom Space plans first-ever fully private human spaceflight mission to International Space Station

Axiom Space announced it is planning history's first fully private human spaceflight to the International Space Station. Axiom has signed a contract with SpaceX for a Crew Dragon flight which will transport a commander professionally trained by Axiom alongside three private astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The mission, set to launch as soon as the second half of 2021, will allow the crew to live aboard the ISS and experience at least eight days of microgravity and views of Earth that can only be fully appreciated in the large, venerable station. "This history-making flight will represent a watershed moment in the march toward universal and routine access to space," Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini said. "This will be just the first of many missions to ISS to be completely crewed and managed by Axiom Space - a first for a commercial entity. Procuring the transportation marks significant progress toward that goal, and we're glad to be working with SpaceX in this effort." This is the first of Axiom's proposed "precursor missions" to the ISS envisioned under its 2016 Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA. Discussions with NASA are underway to establish additional enabling agreements for the private astronaut missions to ISS. Axiom plans to offer professional and private astronaut flights to ISS at a rate of up to two per year to align with flight opportunities as they are made available by NASA, while simultaneously constructing its own privately funded space station.

"Since 2012, SpaceX has been delivering cargo to the International Space Station in partnership with NASA and later this year, we will fly NASA astronauts for the first time," said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell. "Now, thanks to Axiom and their support from NASA, privately crewed missions will have unprecedented access to the space station, furthering the commercialization of space and helping usher in a new era of human exploration."

With its team's vast experience in human spaceflight, Axiom serves as a one-stop shop overseeing all elements of its missions. In addition to contracting with SpaceX for a Crew Dragon vehicle to transport its crew to the ISS, Axiom's turnkey service for the mission - two days in transit and at least eight days aboard the ISS - includes training, mission planning, hardware development, life support, medical support, crew provisions, hardware and safety certifications, on-orbit operations and overall mission management.

NASA recently selected Axiom's proposal to attach its space station modules to the ISS beginning in the second half of 2024, ultimately creating a new 'Axiom Segment' which will expand the station's usable and habitable volume. When the ISS reaches its retirement date, the Axiom complex will detach and operate as a free-flying commercial space station.

By serving the market for immediate access to space while building the future platform for a global user base, Axiom is leading the development and settlement of low Earth orbit now and into the future.

3D-printed thrust chamber passes first tests for Vega evolutions

The 3D-printed thrust chamber assembly of the methane-fuelled M10 rocket engine has passed its first series of hot firing tests. The M10 engine will power the upper stage of future Vega evolutions from 2025. "These test results are encouraging, confirming that our propulsion teams are right on track along the development path identified for such novel technology for Vega evolutions," commented Giorgio Tumino, managing ESA's Vega and Space Rider development programmes. M10 will improve propulsion efficiency and environmental sustainability by reducing emissions and combustion waste thereby increasing the competitiveness of European small launchers and lowering their cost. The M10 is restartable and uses a system of smart pressure control. This improves fuel management and offers mission flexibility. Avio in Italy built this TCA in two parts via additive layer-by-layer manufacturing (ALM) using metal alloys, then welded the two parts together. ALM enables more complex internal geometries to be built in fewer parts with a reduced need for additional machining, which benefits cryogenic technology, speeds up production time and cuts costs. M10 is a 10 t-class liquid oxygen-methane expander cycle engine, intended to replace the second and third stages (Zefiro 9 solid-propellant motor and AVUM upper stage) of the current Vega configuration.

ALM with metal alloys has become more reliable and of better quality but product inspection is challenging. Non-destructive inspection (NDI) such as tomography and ultrasound is used to detect defects, geometry distortions and potential obstructions within cooling channels.

Subscale models demonstrated in 2018 that ALM produces thrust chambers that are comparable to those built in the traditional way and that NDI was successful in detecting defects during manufacturing. This opened the way for the development of the full-scale ALM thrust chamber.

During this test campaign, the TCA was fired 19 times for a total of 450 seconds at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in the USA.

By comparing this data with the results from previous models, engineers will better understand the engine behaviour and performances in the up-scaled model. This will help to optimise the configuration of the first M10 development model.

The hot firing of the first development model of the M10 engine will be carried out at the end of the year. Ground qualification is foreseen for 2024 followed by its use in future Vega launch vehicles by 2025.

"These tests prove new technologies and methods that will keep Europe competitive in the launch services market into the future," added Stefano Bianchi, Head of the Space Transportation developments at ESA.

OmegA on track to support certification launch in 2021

Northrop Grumman Corporation has conducted a full-scale static fire test of the second stage of its OmegA rocket in Promontory, Utah. Developed to support the U.S. Space Force's National Security Space Launch program, the OmegA Launch System remains on track for its first certification flight in spring 2021. During the test, the second stage motor fired for full-duration, approximately 140 seconds, burning nearly 340,000 pounds of solid propellant to produce upwards of 785,000 pounds of thrust. The test verified the motor's ballistics and thermal performance as well as steering control and performance in a cold-conditioned environment. The test team collected more than 500 channels of data to aid in verifying the motor. "Northrop Grumman designed OmegA to use the most reliable propulsion available to ensure exceptional mission assurance for our customers," said Charlie Precourt, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman. "The firing is a significant accomplishment that demonstrates a domestic solution for the RD-180 rocket engine replacement." In October 2018, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $792 million Launch Services Agreement to complete detailed design and verification of the OmegA space launch vehicle and launch sites. The cold test, in conjunction with the successful hot static fire in May 2019, subjected OmegA's motors to the most extreme propellant temperatures the rocket will experience during storage, transport, stacking and launch.

Northrop Grumman has leveraged its flight proven technologies and extensive experience launching critical payloads in the development of the OmegA launch system. The rocket was designed to accommodate national security payloads while also serving the civil and commercial markets.

In preparation for OmegA's inaugural flight, Northrop Grumman now occupies High Bay 2 as the first commercial tenant in NASA's historic Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Construction crews are currently modifying Mobile Launch Platform-3 to serve as OmegA's assembly and launch platform at Pad 39B.

Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.

Astronomy student discovers 17 new planets, including Earth-sized world

University of British Columbia astronomy student Michelle Kunimoto has discovered 17 new planets, including a potentially habitable, Earth-sized world, by combing through data gathered by NASA's Kepler mission. Over its original four-year mission, the Kepler satellite looked for planets, especially those that lie in the "Habitable Zones" of their stars, where liquid water could exist on a rocky planet's surface. The new findings, published in The Astronomical Journal, include one such particularly rare planet. Officially named KIC-7340288 b, the planet discovered by Kunimoto is just 1 0.5 times the size of Earth - small enough to be considered rocky, instead of gaseous like the giant planets of the Solar System - and in the habitable zone of its star. "This planet is about a thousand light years away, so we're not getting there anytime soon!" said Kunimoto, a PhD candidate in the department of physics and astronomy. "But this is a really exciting find, since there have only been 15 small, confirmed planets in the Habitable Zone found in Kepler data so far." The planet has a year that is 142 0.5 days long, orbiting its star at 0.444 Astronomical Units (AU, the distance between Earth and our Sun) - just bigger than Mercury's orbit in our Solar System, and gets about a third of the light Earth gets from the Sun. Of the other 16 new planets discovered, the smallest is only two-thirds the size of Earth - one of the smallest planets to be found with Kepler so far. The rest range in size up to eight times the size of Earth.

Kunimoto is no stranger to discovering planets: she previously discovered four during her undergraduate degree at UBC. Now working on her PhD at UBC, she used what is known as the "transit method" to look for the planets among the roughly 200,000 stars observed by the Kepler mission.

"Every time a planet passes in front of a star, it blocks a portion of that star's light and causes a temporary decrease in the star's brightness," Kunimoto said. "By finding these dips, known as transits, you can start to piece together information about the planet, such as its size and how long it takes to orbit."

Kunimoto also collaborated with UBC alumnus Henry Ngo to obtain razor-sharp follow-up images of some of her planet-hosting stars with the Near InfraRed Imager and Spectrometer (NIRI) on the Gemini North 8-metre Telescope in Hawaii.

"I took images of the stars as if from space, using adaptive optics," she said. "I was able to tell if there was a star nearby that could have affected Kepler's measurements, such as being the cause of the dip itself."

In addition to the new planets, Kunimoto was able to observe thousands of known Kepler planets using the transit-method, and will be reanalysing the exoplanet census as a whole.

"We'll be estimating how many planets are expected for stars with different temperatures," said Kunimoto's PhD supervisor and UBC professor Jaymie Matthews. "A particularly important result will be finding a terrestrial Habitable Zone planet occurrence rate. How many Earth-like planets are there? Stay tuned."