Pandora Mission
Artist's concept of Pandora observing an exoplanet | |
| Mission type | Astrophysics |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Website | https://smallsat.wff.nasa.gov/missions/pandora.php |
| Mission duration | 12 months (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Blue Canyon Technologies, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 325 kg (717 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | Fall 2025 |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit |
| Main telescope | |
| Diameter | 45 cm (18 in) |
| Wavelengths | Near-infrared |
| Instruments | |
| Cassegrain telescope | |
Pandora is a small satellite, one of three orbital missions approved by NASA to pass to the next development phase in NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program. The budget for each mission was $20 million.
The mission is intended to determine atmospheric compositions by observing exoplanets and their host stars at the same time in both visible and infrared light over long periods of time.
The satellite will have sensitivity to identify exoplanets with hydrogen or water present in their atmospheres, as well as what exoplanets are covered by clouds or hazes. Pandora will observe 20 stars and their 39 exoplanets with sizes that range from Earth-size to Jupiter-size, and host stars ranging from mid-K to late-M spectral types.