The other planets found by Kepler haven’t fit all the criteria that would make them right for life of any kind - from microbes to man. Just last month, Kepler scientists announced the discovery of a distant duo that seems like ideal places for some sort of life to flourish. Its mission was supposed to be over by now, but last year, NASA agreed to keep Kepler running through 2016 at a cost of about $20 million a year. So far, it has confirmed 132 planets and spotted more than 2,700 potential ones. ![]() Kepler was launched in 2009 in search of Earth-like planets. The telescope could be used for other purposes even if it can no longer track down planets. Over the next several weeks, engineers on the ground will try to restart Kepler’s faulty wheel or find a workaround. In orbit around the sun, 40 million miles from Earth, Kepler is too far away to send astronauts on a repair mission like the way Grunsfeld and others fixed a mirror on the Hubble Space Telescope. With only two working wheels left, it can’t point at stars with the same precision. ![]() NASA said the spacecraft lost the second of four wheels that control its orientation in space. “I wouldn’t call Kepler down-and-out just yet,” said NASA sciences chief John Grunsfeld. The telescope has discovered scores of planets but only two so far are the best candidates for habitable planets. If engineers can’t find a fix, the failure could mean an end to the $600 million mission’s search, although the space agency wasn’t ready to call it quits Wednesday.
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