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Perseverance Pays Off: Kepler Unveils 40 Billion Exoplanets

6/3/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Against all odds, William Borucki and David Koch dedicated two decades to persuading NASA to back their ambitious space telescope project. After facing five rejections, their perseverance paid off with the launch of the Kepler satellite in 2009. This groundbreaking mission unveiled over 4,000 exoplanets, suggesting a staggering 40 billion potentially habitable worlds in our galaxy.

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Story summary

Against all odds, William Borucki and David Koch dedicated two decades to persuading NASA to back their ambitious space telescope project. After facing five rejections, their perseverance paid off with the launch of the Kepler satellite in 2009. This groundbreaking mission unveiled over 4,000 exoplanets, suggesting a staggering 40 billion potentially habitable worlds in our galaxy.