NASA's TESS Mission , Has Already Identified , Thousands of Possible Alien Worlds.br 'Newsweek' recently reported on some of the weirdest br and most exciting exoplanet candidates detected by br NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).br So far, TESS has discovered br over 5,000 alien worlds br outside of our own solar system. .br In 2018, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched the TESS mission and began gathering information about these distant worlds. .br This time last year, TESS had found just over br 2,400 TOIs. Today, TESS has reached more br than twice that number—a huge testament br to the mission and all the teams scouring br the data for new planets. I'm excited br to see thousands more in the years to come!, Michelle Kunimoto, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT.br This time last year, TESS had found just over br 2,400 TOIs. Today, TESS has reached more br than twice that number—a huge testament br to the mission and all the teams scouring br the data for new planets. I'm excited br to see thousands more in the years to come!, Michelle Kunimoto, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT.br 'Newsweek' reports that many of the exoplanets br already identified stand out for either br general weirdness or a likeness to the Earth. .br TOI-2109b orbits its parent star, about 855 million light-years from Earth, in just 16 hours.br Daytime temperatures on TOI-2109b br reach a searing 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit.br GJ-367b, one of the smallest planets detected, br has a super-fast orbit of just eight hours, br and daytime temperatures up to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit.br Other exoplanets have been noted br for their similarities to the Earth. .br In January of 2020, NASA announced it had found the br first Earth-sized planet within the habitable zone of its star.