TESS, scientists said, takes that mission even further. While it won't be able to study the planets it finds on its own, it will identify the most intriguing targets for follow-up study. Other telescopes will be able to determine the mass of a share of TESS' planets, and future spacecraft, such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, will be able to probe some of the promising worlds' atmospheres for potentially life-friendly chemicals, such as water, oxygen and methane.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 18, 2018 21:00 UTC