PEP-3: Kepler Expedition
Expedition Leader: LTJG Vince Ceraso (USS Challenger)
Mission: PEP-3 (Exoplanetary Research)
Requirements: No experience necessary. Tutorial provided.
Registration: January 11 – February 5
Launch date: February 15, 2026
Duration: 30 Days
Summary:
In 1992, humanity was given their first glimpse of the universe beyond Sol when astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail confirmed the existence of two exoplanets orbiting pulsar PSR B1257+12. Since then, NASA has discovered more than 5,000+ exoplanets, with thousands of possible candidates awaiting confirmation.
Thanks to citizen science projects by Zooniverse and NASA, anyone with little to no experience in astronomy can participate in valuable scientific research. In 2017, Australian mechanic Andrew Grey discovered the existence of several super-earth planets thanks to publicly-available data on Zooniverse.
Named after the telescope with the most exoplanet discoveries, the Kepler Expedition will utilize the project Planet Hunters TESS to hunt for potentially undiscovered planets by classifying transit light curves in telescope data.