KEPLER is NASA’s first mission capable of finding earth-size worlds around other stars.  Launched in March, 2009, KEPLER’s objective is to determine if other Earths exist in our galaxy and how many are there.  The results of KEPLER will be profound – either Earth is a very rare planet, or earth-like planets are commonplace.  The speaker, Roger Hunter (UGA ’78) is the NASA Project Manager for the KEPLER Mission.   He leads a team of over 80 scientists and engineers on a mission that is expected to last at least 3 ½ years in search of another earth.  The discussion will provide an overview of the KEPLER mission, its capabilities and characteristics, results to date, and mission expectations.