NASA has selected 20 small satellites to fly as auxiliary cargo aboard rockets that are planned to launch in 2011 and 2012. These ‘CubeSats’ weigh 2.2 pounds or less and include the ExoPlanetSat, a telescope designed to search for Earth-like planets. ExoPlanetSat will train its sights on a single star and look for changes in the star’s light as small, rocky planets transit in front of it.

“Right now our favorite star is Alpha Centauri,” says Seager, planetary scientist at MIT and principal investigator on the project.

The design of ExoPlanetSat was developed under a NASAASTID grant. The current project is supported by MIT and the Draper Laboratory.