Image: ©NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab

The small satellite is designed to study at least 20 exoplanets and the stars they orbit, helping scientists determine what their atmospheres are made of and how features on their host stars can affect those measurements.

When astronomers study a distant planet’s atmosphere, they also receive light from its host star. Because stars have changing surfaces, including brighter regions called faculae and darker areas similar to sunspots, stellar activity can interfere with the signals scientists are trying to detect from the planet; Pandora’s goal is to solve this.

Pandora will observe planets and their host stars simultaneously in visible and near-infrared light. This combination should help researchers distinguish atmospheric signals from those produced by the star.

One particularly important target is water. Detecting water in an exoplanet atmosphere can provide valuable information about its composition and physical conditions.

Pandora is designed to help scientists determine whether apparent water signals genuinely come from a planet rather than activity on its star.

Pandora’s observations are also expected to improve the scientific return of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb can conduct highly detailed observations of exoplanet atmospheres, but its high demand means it cannot routinely spend long periods observing the same targets.

Pandora will take a different approach. During its planned year-long primary mission, it will observe at least 20 exoplanets 10 times each. Each observation will last around 24 hours and include an exoplanet transit, when the planet passes in front of its star from Earth’s perspective.

Combining Pandora’s long-duration observations with Webb’s detailed measurements could give astronomers a clearer picture of both planets and their host stars.

Pandora launched into low Earth orbit on January 11 as the first satellite selected through NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers program. The program supports relatively small, lower-cost missions intended to investigate important scientific questions while accepting greater risks than traditional flagship missions.

The spacecraft carries an approximately 18-inch (45-centimeter) all-aluminum telescope. Its near-infrared detector is a spare originally developed for Webb, giving Pandora technology linked to one of NASA’s most powerful space observatories.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center leads the mission, with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory responsible for project management and engineering. A range of other organisations, including Corning, Blue Canyon Technologies, NASA’s Ames Research Center and the University of Arizona, are also contributing.

Pandora’s results could ultimately help astronomers interpret the atmospheres of distant worlds with greater confidence. By better understanding how stars influence observations, researchers can improve their ability to identify chemicals, clouds and hazes in exoplanet atmospheres.

The mission could therefore play an important supporting role in future efforts to investigate potentially habitable planets and determine which distant worlds might have conditions suitable for life.