The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently approved a grant worth $200 million to finance the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Project, which will make use of space telescopes to evaluate the sky and possibly discover new transition exoplanets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. Focusing particularly on planets similar to Earth, the survey project will cover 400 times as much sky as its former missions.
Aside from the TESS project, which is anticipated to launch in 2017, NASA also granted funds for the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), designed to measure the variability of cosmic x-ray sources (x-ray timing) from the International Space Station (ISS).
The TESS and NICER projects are both included as part of NASA’s Explorer program, one of its oldest continuous programs designed to provide inexpensive access to space. Satellite mission grants are capped at $200 million, while space station mission costs are capped at $55 million.
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