NASA Retires Kepler From Original Missions, Says Others May Be Possible

It's official: NASA's Kepler telescope is no longer capable of carrying out its original planet-hunting mission.

The news comes after weeks of tests designed to gauge whether two of Kepler's gyroscope-like reaction wheels necessary for pointing the device in different directions could be restored after both hit a snag -- the first in July 2012 and the second in May.

However, NASA officials aren't giving up on the telescope altogether. The agency recently sent out a call for research ideas that the device could carry out in its current state, including the possibility of another kind of exoplanet search using the two reaction wheels that remain as well as its thrusters.

Though, the submissions request adds, no funding is currently available for such projects.

Launched in 2009, Kepler completed its prime mission in Nov. 2012, at which point it began a four-year extended mission. In all, the telescope has confirmed 135 exoplanets and identified over 3,500 candidates, compiling a stack of data scientists say could take years to fully digest.

"At the beginning of our mission, no one knew if Earth-size planets were abundant in the galaxy. If they were rare, we might be alone," said William Borucki, Kepler science principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "Now at the completion of Kepler observations, the data holds the answer to the question that inspired the mission: Are Earths in the habitable zone of stars like our sun common or rare?"

According to officials, the mission is one of overwhelming success, despite recent setbacks.

"Kepler has made extraordinary discoveries in finding exoplanets including several super-Earths in the habitable zone," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Knowing that Kepler has successfully collected all the data from its prime mission, I am confident that more amazing discoveries are on the horizon."