NASA's Pandora Mission Will Study Alien Atmospheres

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission, is one step closer to launch with the completion of the spacecraft bus, which provides the structure, power, and other systems that will enable the mission to carry out its work.

Pandora is a small satellite that will provide in-depth study of at least 20 known planets orbiting distant stars in order to determine the composition of their atmospheres — especially the presence of hazes, clouds, and water. This data will establish a firm foundation for interpreting measurements by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and future missions that will search for habitable worlds.

Astronomers view the presence of water as a critical aspect of habitability because water is essential to life as we know it. But variations in light from a planet's host star can mask or mimic the signal of water. Separating these sources is where Pandora will shine.

Using a novel all-aluminum, 45-centimeter-wide (17 inches) telescope, Pandora’s detectors will capture each star’s visible brightness and near-infrared spectrum at the same time, while also obtaining the transiting planet’s near-infrared spectrum. This combined data will enable the science team to determine the properties of stellar surfaces and cleanly separate star and planetary signals.

Over the course of its year-long prime mission, Pandora will observe at least 20 exoplanets 10 times, with each stare lasting a total of 24 hours. Each observation will include a transit, when the exoplanet passes in front of its star as seen from our perspective, which is when the mission will capture the planet’s spectrum.