NASA has selected SpaceX to launch its Pandora mission, which will study exoplanets and their host stars. The mission will use a small satellite to observe at least 20 known exoplanets as they transit their stars. This will allow scientists to study the atmospheres of these planets and learn how they are affected by the activity of their stars.
Pandora is a small, low-cost mission that is part of NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program. The mission is a collaboration between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The Pandora mission will help scientists better understand exoplanets and their atmospheres. This information will be valuable in the search for habitable planets beyond our solar system.
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- Objective: Pandora will observe transiting exoplanets (planets that pass in front of their star) to understand how stellar activity affects our observations of their atmospheres. This will help scientists better interpret data from other telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Launch: The launch is scheduled for no earlier than this fall aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
- Technology: Pandora will use a special telescope to simultaneously measure the visible and near-infrared brightness of the host star and obtain near-infrared spectra of the transiting planet. This will allow scientists to separate star and planetary signals more effectively.
- Collaboration: The Pandora mission is a joint effort between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
In short, NASA is partnering with SpaceX to launch a mission that will improve our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres and contribute to the search for habitable worlds.