Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission lauch. Screenshot via youtube.com
NASA successfully launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, Wednesday evening as part of an ambitious step that will allow astronomers to estimate how many planets there may be beyond our solar system.
How it works: The spacecraft, which lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, has wide-angle cameras. Over the next two years, it will photograph nearly 85% of outer space to detect the brief dips of light sparked by planets passing in front of a star. The database it creates will guide NASA missions for decades. The Kepler Mission has so far identified 2,650 exoplanets to date, per Space.com
A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.