← NewsAll
NASA's Pandora aims to clarify whether exoplanet atmospheres show signs of life
Summary
Pandora is a small NASA satellite, stowed on a SpaceX rocket that could lift off as early as this Sunday, built to observe known exoplanet-hosting stars in both visible and infrared light. Its dual-instrument approach is designed to help separate genuine atmospheric signals from variability in the parent stars.
Content
Pandora is a compact NASA satellite meant to improve how astronomers read the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars. The spacecraft is stowed aboard a SpaceX rocket that could lift off as early as this Sunday on a multi-customer launch. Pandora carries two instruments that will observe the same targets in visible light and infrared so scientists can distinguish planetary atmospheric signals from changes on the host stars. The mission was built on a modest budget and uses many off-the-shelf components while aiming to collect cleaner transit spectra.
Key facts:
- Pandora is aboard a SpaceX rocket with a possible launch as early as this Sunday; the same launch will also deploy 10 small satellites for Kepler Communications.
- The spacecraft is roughly the size of a microwave oven, solar-powered, and its main mirror is 45 centimetres across.
- Pandora uses two instruments observing in visible and infrared wavelengths to compare data from the same targets.
- It will study exoplanets via transits (when a planet crosses its star) and will not image planets directly.
- The mission budget is about US$20-million and relies on off-the-shelf parts; team members cited include Jason Rowe, Elisa Quintana (mission principal investigator), and Sara Seager.
Summary:
If the mission proceeds as planned, Pandora will begin observing a list of stars known to host exoplanets and will focus on collecting high-quality transit spectra. Its data are intended to help determine whether features seen in exoplanet spectra come from planetary atmospheres or from stellar variability, and the next immediate step is the scheduled launch and subsequent commissioning in orbit.
