Kepler Spacecraft

This should prove interesting. NASA plans to launch the Kepler spacecraft on the 6th of March. It's another telescope in space, fitted with the latest technology so we can expect some nice images, hopefully. The mission is to look for Earth-size planets in the nearby Galactic region, concentrating on those stars similar to our own.

"Kepler is a critical component in NASA's broader efforts to ultimately find and study planets where Earth-like conditions may be present," said Jon Morse, the Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The planetary census Kepler takes will be very important for understanding the frequency of Earth-size planets in our galaxy and planning future missions that directly detect and characterize such worlds around nearby stars."