The French national center of space research (Centre National d'?tudes Spatiales, CNES) reports that space telescope CoRoT (COnvection ROtation and planetary Users November 2, 2012 fell victim to a fatal error in software. Although the spacecraft is still functional ("hardware" OK), data transfer 30-centimeter telescope on the Ground was broken. Most likely, finally.

Although CoRoT much less Kepler, he put began a new era of mass discovery of exoplanets. (Illustration CNES.)

In CNES say how serious the problem: although launched in 2006, CoRoT had two control computers, one has failed even in 2009, so the last three years, the AC worked on the siding. Now, after the "fall" and he hopes to revive the system a little: the main computer repeatedly tried to restart, but... Optimism, however, suggests that although the satellite was in high 900-km orbit, the failure was purely software, the microelectronics resisted the cosmic radiation that initially raised concerns.

Let's remind, this KA opened the first "super-earths"that has caused the emergence of a whole class of exoplanets. Before were found (because of big sizes and weight) some "hot Jupiter", so that COROT-7 b became the first in its class and stopped coming after the first ekzoplanety giants statements that small body like the Earth are rare exceptions.

By the time of the accident telescope has opened 31 confirmed planet (data for five are being prepared for publication) and more than 170 candidates. Although these figures are lower than the "Kepler", launched in 2009, we should note that last and sizes several times higher (95 cm to 30 from CoRoT), which makes a direct comparison of the number of open exoplanets.

But the trouble does not come alone. Seems so long (six years!) life "Kepler" will not. Although he, unlike CoRoT, is far less dangerous radiation orbit, the first failure, reducing the field of view by 5%, occurred in less than a year after the start of the mission. And one of the four stabilizing devices failed in this July, because of what the device is now fixed to observe one and the same area of the night sky. Therefore, the detection of using it is far from the lights of the planets already extremely difficult. The main thing, as it turned out, the resource KA close to exhaustion; another such failure and no more work. In short, November 14, NASA announced the end of primary (3.5 years) of the mission of the telescope, as well as of the start of an additional, designed for up to four years.

All this is even sharper raises the question about the new big space telescope - but in the near future because of the close of the budgetary framework of the all space agencies of the world it is not expected. If CoRoT was launched with a clear understanding of what soon will be replaced by more powerful tools to manage to be the first!"), the "Kepler" direct successor may not be - and this is a negative impact on the mass detection of exoplanets.

Based on the materials of Nature News.