Exoplanet Exploration

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slide 1 - Photo of NASA TESS on the launchpad. Credit: SpaceX

Breaking news

Liftoff!

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, is flying free following an on-time liftoff and successful journey to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Read more ›

slide 2 - Photo of the Milky Way galaxy above La Silla observatory

Feature

What in the world is an ‘exoplanet?’

Step outside on a clear night, and you can be sure of something our ancestors could only imagine: Every star you see likely plays host to at least one planet. Read more ›

slide 3 - surface of TRAPPIST-1d

Virtual Reality

Stand on the surface

Take a virtual reality trip to the surface of two of our featured alien planets as one of the first galactic explorers. Explore ›

slide 4 - A clip of the OST Starship Enterprise flying through space.

Feature

Top 10 Star Trek planets

We asked NASA scientists to pick their favorite Star Trek destinations...and tell us how alike they are to real exoplanets. Full story ›

slide 5 - Illustration of TESS

Blog

Countdown to launch

On Wednesday, April 18 we'll launch a new telescope into space from Cape Canaveral to search for planets close to Earth. Here are 5 reasons why TESS is going to be awesome. Read more ›

3,717

Confirmed

Planets that have been validated by two or more discovery methods.
4,496

Candidates

Kepler mission discoveries that could be planets, but are unconfirmed. Total also includes confirmed planets.
2,773

Star Systems

The number of stars with confirmed planets.
927

Terrestrial

A planet thought to have a solid, rocky surface like that of Earth or Mars.

News and Features

The ASTERIA satellite, currently in low-Earth orbit, is only slightly larger than a box of cereal, but it could help astrophysicists study planets orbiting other stars.

Images from the ISS of ASTERIA deploying

Astrophysics CubeSat demonstrates big potential in a small package

NASA's efforts in digital communications have been recognized with nominations for six Webby Awards, the highest honor for online communications.

Webby Award

NASA nominated for six 2018 Webby Awards

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which will scan the skies to look for planets beyond our solar system—known as exoplanets—is now in Florida to begin preparations for launch in April.

Illustration of an exoplanet

10 things: Exoplanets 101

Scientists used NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes to find water "fingerprints" in the atmosphere of a hot, bloated, Saturn-mass exoplanet some 700 light-years away.

Illustration of a gas giant orbiting its star

NASA finds a large amount of water in an exoplanet's atmosphere

New results from the 229th American Astronomical Society meeting reveal that Earth-sized planets can be made of minerals that are distinctly not Earth-like.

An artist's rendition of the interior compositions of planets around the stars Kepler 102 and Kepler 407.

Can garnet planets be habitable?

A giant 'Tatooine' discovered by NASA's Kepler mission is the largest world yet discovered that circles two stars.

Kepler illustration

New planet is largest discovered that orbits two suns

A discovery one-ups Tatooine by finding twin stars which host three giant exoplanets.

Illustration of three pink gas planets orbiting two stars.

Three giant worlds found orbiting twin suns

A star among planet hunters, Natalie Batalha wields a formidable weapon: NASA’s Kepler space telescope.

Natalie Batalha

Role models, footsteps, and the search for life

The mission is the next step in NASA’s search for planets outside our solar system.

Illustration of TESS in space

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite arrives at Kennedy Space Center for launch

The seven Earth-size planets of TRAPPIST-1 are all mostly made of rock, with some having the potential to hold more water than Earth, according to a new study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Illustration of TRAPPIST-1 planets

New clues to compositions of TRAPPIST-1 planets

Our nearest neighboring star Proxima Centauri bears a startling resemblance to our own sun, raising questions about conditions on its Earth-sized planet.

An illustration of a star, with a cutout showing its interior.

Proxima Centauri might be more sunlike than we thought

"I think when you find a question you’re interested in pursuing, be brave and pursue it." The co-lead of NASA’s Kepler space telescope, Jessie Dotson, has pursued asteroids and exoplanets, and a lot more besides.

Jessie Dotson

A fearless astronomer behind a game-changing telescope

NASA's James Webb Space telescope will now revise its 2019 launch window to approximately May 2020.

The mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope.

New launch window under review

Hubble reveals that at least three of the TRAPPIST-1 planets do not seem to contain puffy, hydrogen-rich atmospheres similar to gaseous planets such as Neptune.

Artist's concept of spectroscopy

Hubble probes atmospheres of exoplanets in TRAPPIST-1 habitable zone

Astronomers have discovered two planets using NASA's Kepler telescope: a super Earth inferno and its Neptune-like companion.

Illustration of a grey planet with a star

Discovery alert! Iron-made super Earth

The knowledge and tools NASA has developed to study life on Earth will be a great asset to the study of planets beyond our solar system.

Earth as a point of light

Our living planet shapes the search for life beyond Earth

A super Earth that scorches in extreme heat because it circles so close to its star.

Illustration of a planet

Discovery alert! A sizzling super Earth

NASA researchers say they have passed a major milestone in their quest to detect the atmospheres of giant planets outside our solar system.

Photo of scientist with instrument

NASA team passes major technological milestone for characterizing exoplanets

The first science targets for the powerful Webb telescope have been announced, and they include the TRAPPIST-1 system.

Artist's concept of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

Icy moons, galaxy clusters, and distant worlds! Oh my!

The flying SOFIA telescope has found a planetary system that has similar architecture to our own, in the system Epsilon Eridani.

Illustration of Epsilon Eridani

SOFIA confirms nearby planetary system is similar to our own

NASA has selected 28 fellows for its prestigious Einstein, Hubble and Sagan fellowships.

Photo of Raphaelle Haywood, new Sagan Fellow.

NASA announces astronomy and astrophysics fellows for 2017

A team of scientists led by the Carnegie Institution for Science has released the largest collection of observations for hunting exoplanets to the public.

Illustration of an exoplanet.

Scientists make huge dataset of nearby stars available to public

University of Warwick researchers have identified a white dwarf pulsar – a star type which has eluded astronomers for half a century.

Illustration of binary star pair

Mysterious white dwarf pulsar discovered

The vortex coronagraph has the potential to image planetary systems closer to their host stars than any other instrument in the world.

Direct image of a brown dwarf

New planet imager delivers first science

Go beyond what's possible; that's the Spitzer Space Telescope's motto. Designed for a two-year mission, 13 years later it's still searching the skies for new discoveries.

An artist's concept of the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Spitzer Space Telescope begins 'Beyond' phase

The relatively nearby planet GJ 1132b may have an atmosphere despite being baked to a temperature of around 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

An artist's illustration of the planet curve with its star in the background.

Venus-like exoplanet might have oxygen atmosphere, but not life

Astronomers have pinpointed which planets discovered by the NASA Kepler mission may sustain liquid water on their surfaces.

An illustration of Kepler-186f.

Astronomers help focus research in the search for another Earth

To find Earth-like planets, NASA will face a challenge that seems impossible: build a space telescope so stable, it moves less than the width of an atom.

At a Goddard cleanroom, technicians unveil the James Webb Observatory’s segmented mirror.

The next generation of telescopes are almost impossibly accurate

A young star's stellar outburst brings its water snow line into view. The bizarre idea of snow orbiting in space is fundamental to planet formation.

A bright star is surrounded by an inner circle of dust and a glowing snowy outer circle.

Snow line discovered in bright baby solar system

Astronomers from UC Santa Cruz have found the first strong evidence of water vapor or ice in the the coldest known object outside our solar system– a brown dwarf five times the size of Jupiter.

An artist's concept shows the coldest object outside our solar system as blue in color, with the band of the Milky Way in the background.

Astronomers find water clouds in cold Jupiter-like object

How do some gas giant planets end up so feverishly close to their stars? NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope finds new clues.

How do some gas giant planets end up so feverishly close to their stars? NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope finds new clues.

In space 'Jupiter' planets burn hot, not cold

The organic molecule methyl alcohol (methanol) has been found for the first time in a young planet-forming disc.

This artist’s impression shows a protoplanetary disc, with an inset of the organic molecule methanol.

First detection of methyl alcohol in a planet-forming disc

A team of astronomers has found that there are far more planets of the hot Jupiter type than expected in a dense cluster of stars called Messier 67.

A hot Jupiter orbits close to its star

Unexpected excess of giant planets in star cluster

Venus has an “electric wind” that may have played a significant role in stripping Earth’s twin planet of its oceans.

An artist's concept of the electric wind at Venus. Rays represent the paths that oxygen and hydrogen ions take as they are pulled out of the upper atmosphere.

‘Electric wind’ can strip potential Earths of oceans, atmospheres

New research suggests that aging stars can warm previously frozen Hoth-like planets into supporting life.

An artist's concept of a burning exoplanet. New research suggests that aging stars can warm previously frozen Hoth-like planets into supporting life.

Giant red stars may heat frozen worlds into habitable planets

The Search for Life

Finding potential life-bearing worlds among the stars is NASA's next big challenge.

Exoplanets 101

Habitable Zones

Life Signs

Inventing the Future

The Search for Life

Finding potential life-bearing worlds among the stars is NASA's next big challenge.

Exoplanets 101

What is an exoplanet? Where are they located and how do we find them?

Learn more about Exoplanets 101 ›

Habitable Zones

Where's the best place to look for life-bearing planets among the stars?

Learn more about Habitable Zones ›

Life Signs

Find evidence of life on distant planets will require advanced technology and a little luck.

Learn more about Life Signs ›

Inventing the Future

Learn about the futuristic technology NASA is developing to explore alien worlds.

Learn more about Inventing the Future ›

Ask a Question

Exoplanet Exploration Program

Exoplanet Exploration Program

NASA's science, technology and mission management office for the exploration of exoplanets. The program's primary goals, as described in the 2014 NASA Science Plan, are to discover planets around other stars, to characterize their properties and to identify planets that could harbor life.

Explore Alien Worlds

Exoplanet Travel Bureau

This set of travel posters envision a day when the creativity of scientists and engineers will allow us to do things we can only dream of now.

Strange New Worlds

Explore an interactive gallery of some of the most intriguing and exotic planets discovered so far.

A planetary tour through time. The ancients debated the existence of planets beyond our own; now we know of thousands.

Historic Timeline

A planetary tour through time. The ancients debated the existence of planets beyond our own; now we know of thousands.