US EditionSpaceX Launches NASA's Pandora to Study Exoplanet Atmospheres
Pandora will study atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets using visible and near-infrared light to separate planetary signals from stellar noise during its one-year mission.
- On Jan. 11, SpaceX launched NASA's Pandora from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg on a Falcon 9 rideshare carrying about 40 payloads, livestreamed by SpaceX with booster recovery planned.
- Pandora's mission is designed to separate star and planet spectra using multiwavelength observations that take simultaneous visible and near-infrared measurements to reveal atmospheric composition, improving confidence in detecting water, hazes and clouds for context with JWST and future missions.
- Once in orbit Pandora will undergo a one-month commissioning before starting its one-year prime mission, observing at least 20 target exoplanets for 24 hours across 10 observations per system.
- Pandora's publicly available data will help interpret James Webb Space Telescope and future mission measurements, while the NASA Astrophysics Pioneers program trains early-career scientists and engineers, who hold over half of leadership roles.
- Given persistent stellar contamination problems, Pandora aims to clear ambiguities from stellar variability that complicated the K2-18b disputed detection example, demonstrating the small, low-cost SmallSat approach of the Astrophysics Pioneers program.
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Los Angeles Weekly TimesNASA astrophysics, commercial satellites launch on SpaceX rideshare mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a trio of NASA astrophysics small satellites along with dozens of commercial spacecraft on a rideshare mission Jan. 11. The post NASA astrophysics, commercial satellites launch on SpaceX rideshare mission appeared first on SpaceNews.
On Sunday, January 11, NASA will launch the Pandora telescope, a new scientific mission designed to study exoplanets and the stars that orbit them. Takeoff is scheduled from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch will begin at 8:19 a.m. EST, corresponding to 5:19 a.m. PST, and will be broadcast live via the official SpaceX website. The launch window will last 57 minutes. In case …
Pandora, a keen-eyed satellite built to study exoplanets, readies for launch
Pandora, the latest in a long portfolio of University of Arizona's space science missions, has cleared its last major milestone on its journey into space. This week, Pandora—a satellite about the size of fridge—was mounted inside the launch vehicle, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Pandora now awaits blast-off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch window opens at 6:19 a.m. Arizona time (8:19 a.m. EST) on …
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