NASA has selected a 10-strong science team for the Origins Programme's Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) that will hunt for Earth-sized planets around stars, provide insights into the origin and evolution of the galaxy and precisely measure the locations and distances of stars in the galaxy.
The spacecraft, which will be launched in 2009, will be placed into an Earth-trailing solar orbit. Light gathered by its multiple telescopes will be combined and processed to provide information that would normally be obtained by a much larger telescope.
The spacecraft's data will be used to identify potential targets for the Origins Programme Terrestrial Planet Finder spacecraft which will be launched at a later date.
Source: Flight International
