The sun is near its solar maximum, a roughly two-year period when the sun is more disturbed.
The football field-sized research lab has survived years of geopolitical strife on Earth.
Rocket Lab hopes its offer gives the students some "space magic" after their disappointment.
The landing elevates China's space power status in a global rush to the moon.
The countdown clock stopped at 3 minutes and 50 seconds ahead of launch.
Sky-gazers in the Southern Hemisphere have a better chance of glimpsing the fuzzy object.
New Zealand has relied for 12 years on the Wideband Global Satellite Communications web, built by Boeing and run by the Pentagon for several allied countries.
The exoplanet, named Gliese 12b, is about 40 light-years away.
The trip included Ed Dwight, whose story is told in National Geographic documentary The Space Race.
