NASA's Pandora mission has begun observing planets outside the solar system from low Earth orbit to examine atmospheric conditions on more than 20 exoplanets.
The small satellite, which was launched on January 11, is conducting measurements to determine whether these alien worlds contain hazes, clouds or water. Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars beyond Earth's solar system, and evaluating their atmospheric compositions is a crucial step in assessing potential habitability.
According to NASA, the data collected by Pandora will help astronomers better understand exoplanets and their host stars. Researchers currently cannot determine with absolute certainty how light emitted by host stars affects measurements of exoplanet atmospheres.
Elisa Quintana, the principal investigator for the Pandora mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said the team designed the spacecraft and its observation schedule to resolve this complex measurement issue. Goddard Space Flight Center serves as one of the space agency's primary scientific research and mission control hubs.
Instrument hardware and current status
Pandora relies on a near-infrared detector built from a spare component originally manufactured for the James Webb Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope, also known as JWST, is NASA's flagship space observatory used for high-resolution astronomical research.
Jordan Karburn, the deputy project manager for Pandora at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, said the spacecraft is in perfect condition and all instruments are operating as well as expected. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides engineering and technical expertise for major scientific initiatives.
Astrophysical Pioneers program and capabilities
The mission is funded through NASA's Astrophysical Pioneers program, an initiative created to investigate space science questions using rapid, low-cost satellites. Spacecraft developed under the Pioneers framework are built to operate with a higher tolerance for potential faults than standard space missions.
Pandora carries an aluminum telescope measuring approximately 45 centimeters in diameter. The satellite is equipped to observe exoplanets and their host stars simultaneously across both visible and infrared light wavelengths.
Knicole Colón, a project scientist at NASA Goddard, said Pandora's main advantage is its capability to track specific targets over extended periods across multiple light wavelengths. Colón noted that flagship observatories with heavy user demand, such as the Webb telescope, cannot regularly dedicate long blocks of time to individual targets.
