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NASA to Launch Pandora Satellite to Search for Alien Life
Pandora, a 716-pound satellite costing $20 million, will study 20 exoplanets to analyze atmospheric chemistry and separate stellar signals for life condition assessment.
- On Feb. 10, NASA announced it had chosen SpaceX under its VADR contract to launch the Pandora small satellite.
- The Pandora mission will focus on separating star and planet signals to improve atmospheric readings, co-led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and NASA Goddard after recently passing NASA's critical design review.
- Weighing 716 lbs and carrying a 45-centimetre telescope, Pandora will study signals from 20 hand-selected stars and their 39 exoplanets, observing each target 10 times for 24 hours during its one-year primary mission.
- Scheduled for launch some time in the fourth quarter of 2025, Pandora's timing slipped due to a 43-day government shutdown and will lift off from Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon 9 to low Earth orbit.
- At about $20 million, Pandora delivers deep, repeated observations at a fraction of the cost of flagship telescopes, enhancing James Webb Space Telescope and Habitable Worlds Observatory science while the team plans an extended mission proposal if results allow.
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SpaceX to Provide Launch Services for NASA's Pandora Mission - SPACE & DEFENSE
NASA has selected SpaceX to provide the launch service for the agency's Pandora mission, which will study at least 20 known exoplanets and their host stars to find out how changes in stars affect observations of exoplanet atmospheres.
LLNL Pandora SmallSat mission clears major NASA milestone on the path toward launch
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Pandora SmallSat mission recently passed NASA's critical design review: a major milestone for the mission to continue its journey toward launch. The Pandora SmallSat mission will study planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets, and their stars. "This is a major milestone for the mission and a huge accomplishment for our team, clearing us through spacecraft integration and to flight readi…
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