Nanosatellite Will Search For Earth-like Planets Beyond Our
Solar System  MIT has developed a new nanosatellite called
ExoPlanetSat that has the sole purpose of finding Earth-like
planets beyond our solar system that could support life. The
ExoPlanetSat is expected to launch in 2012.  The nanosatellite
has a volume of three liters and is 10 centimeters tall, 10cm
wide, and 30cm long--about the size of a loaf of bread (I hope
it's whole wheat!). Although I don't know for certain, I imagine
that the MIT's satellite is a part of the CubeSat program,
initially started at Cal Poly, which typically allows for 10 by
10 by 10cm cubes and allows them to be added together to make
large cubes like 10 by 10 by20cm (or like in this case, 10 by 10
by 30cm).  Unlike traditional large satellites which look at
hundreds or thousands of stars at once, the ExoPlanetSat will
look at a single star. While larger satellites are good at
identifying a number of stars with potential Earth-like planets,
they are not good at identifying