Kepler Science Operations

TL;DR

Kepler's mission involves continuous observation of a star field to detect earth-sized exoplanets using transit data, with optimized operations, successful commissioning, and a public data archive supporting ongoing scientific analysis.

Contribution

This paper details the comprehensive planning, operational execution, and initial data management strategies for Kepler's exoplanet search mission.

Findings

Successful commissioning within a week of launch

Operational anomalies are understood and mitigated

Data archive established with public access available

Abstract

Kepler's primary mission is a search for earth-size exoplanets in the habitable zone of late-type stars using the transit method. To effectively accomplish this mission, Kepler orbits the Sun and stares nearly continuously at one field-of-view which was carefully selected to provide an appropriate density of target stars. The data transmission rates, operational cycles, and target management requirements implied by this mission design have been optimized and integrated into a comprehensive plan for science operations. The commissioning phase completed all critical tasks and accomplished all objectives within a week of the pre-launch plan. Since starting science, the nominal data collection timeline has been interrupted by two safemode events, several losses of fine point, and some small pointing adjustments. The most important anomalies are understood and mitigated, so Kepler's technical performance metrics have improved significantly over this period and the prognosis for mission success is excellent. The Kepler data archive is established and hosting data for the science team, guest observers, and public. The first data sets to become publicly available include the monthly full-frame images, dropped targets, and individual sources as they are published. Data are released through the archive on a quarterly basis; the Kepler Results Catalog will be released annually starting in 2011.