NASA’s newest exoplanet mission, Pandora, is making progress towards its launch with the completion of the spacecraft bus. The bus provides the structure, power, and other systems necessary for the mission to study the atmospheres of at least 20 known planets orbiting distant stars.
The spacecraft will focus on determining the composition of these atmospheres, including the presence of hazes, clouds, and water. This data will help establish a foundation for interpreting measurements by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and future missions searching for habitable worlds.
According to Dr. Ben Hord, a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, the presence of water is critical for habitability because it’s essential for life as we know it. However, confirming its presence in exoplanet atmospheres can be challenging due to variations in light from the host star.
Pandora will use a novel all-aluminum telescope to capture data on both the star and the planet’s atmosphere simultaneously. This combined data will enable scientists to determine the properties of stellar surfaces and cleanly separate star and planetary signals.
The mission will observe at least 20 exoplanets 10 times over its year-long prime mission, with each observation lasting 24 hours. Each star will be observed for a total of 24 hours, allowing for continuous observation over extended periods.
Pandora is a joint effort between NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with contributions from various universities and organizations. The mission aims to improve our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres and their potential for supporting life.
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/directorates/smd/astrophysics-division/exoplanet-exploration-program/nasas-pandora-mission-one-step-closer-to-probing-alien-atmospheres