{"id":345857,"date":"2026-01-10T00:40:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/universe\/exoplanets\/nasas-pandora-satellite-cubesats-to-explore-exoplanets-beyond\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T00:40:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:40:59","slug":"nasas-pandora-satellite-cubesats-to-explore-exoplanets-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=345857","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Pandora Satellite, CubeSats to Explore Exoplanets, Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"
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6 min read<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Pandora Satellite, CubeSats to Explore Exoplanets, Beyond<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A new NASA spacecraft called Pandora is awaiting launch ahead of its journey to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, and their stars.<\/p>\n

Along for the ride are two shoebox-sized satellites called BlackCAT (Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope)<\/a> and SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat)<\/a>, as NASA innovates with ambitious science missions that take low-cost, creative approaches to answering questions like, \u201cHow does the universe work?\u201d and \u201cAre we alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

All three missions are set to launch Jan. 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base<\/a> in California. The launch window opens at 8:19 a.m. EST (5:19 a.m. PST). SpaceX will livestream<\/a> the event.<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of NASA\u2019s Pandora mission, which will help scientists untangle the signals from the atmospheres of exoplanets \u2014 worlds beyond our solar system \u2014 and their stars.<\/div>\n
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Conceptual Image Lab<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\tDownload high-resolution images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio<\/span>
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\u201cPandora\u2019s goal is to disentangle the atmospheric signals of planets and stars using visible and near-infrared light,\u201d said Elisa Quintana, Pandora\u2019s principal investigator at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cThis information can help astronomers determine if detected elements and compounds are coming from the star or the planet \u2014 an important step as we search for signs of life in the cosmos.\u201d<\/p>\n

BlackCAT and SPARCS are small satellites that will study the transient, high-energy universe and the activity of low-mass stars, respectively.<\/p>\n

Pandora<\/a> will observe planets as they pass in front of their stars as seen from our perspective, events called transits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As starlight passes through a planet\u2019s atmosphere, it interacts with substances like water and oxygen that absorb characteristic wavelengths, adding their chemical fingerprints<\/a> to the signal.<\/p>\n

But while only a small fraction of the star\u2019s light grazes the planet, telescopes also collect the rest of the light emitted by the star\u2019s facing side. Stellar surfaces can sport brighter and darker regions<\/a> that grow, shrink, and change position over time, suppressing or magnifying signals from planetary atmospheres. Adding a further complication, some of these areas may contain the same chemicals that astronomers hope to find in the planet\u2019s atmosphere, such as water vapor.<\/p>\n

All these factors make it difficult to be certain that important detected molecules come from the planet alone.<\/p>\n

Pandora will help address this problem by providing in-depth study of at least 20 exoplanets<\/a> and their host stars during its initial year. The satellite will look at each planet and its star 10 times, with each observation lasting a total of 24 hours. Many of these worlds are among the over 6,000 discovered by missions like NASA\u2019s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Pandora,<\/a><\/figure>
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This view of the fully integrated Pandora spacecraft was taken May 19, 2025, following the mission\u2019s successful environmental test campaign at Blue Canyon Technologies in Lafayette, Colorado. Visible are star trackers (center), multilayer insulation blankets (white), the end of the telescope (top), and the solar panel (right) in its launch configuration.<\/div>\n
NASA\/BCT<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Pandora will collect visible and near-infrared light using a novel, all-aluminum 17-inch-wide (45-centimeter) telescope jointly developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory<\/a> in California and Corning Specialty Materials in Keene, New Hampshire. Pandora\u2019s near-infrared detector is a spare developed for NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each long observation period will capture a star\u2019s light both before and during a transit and help determine how stellar surface features impact measurements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese intense studies of individual systems are difficult to schedule on high-demand missions, like Webb,\u201d said engineer Jordan Karburn, Pandora\u2019s deputy project manager at Livermore. \u201cYou also need the simultaneous multiwavelength measurements to pick out the star\u2019s signal from the planet\u2019s. The long stares with both detectors are critical for tracing the exact origins of elements and compounds scientists consider indicators of potential habitability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pandora is the first satellite to launch in the agency\u2019s Astrophysics Pioneers program<\/a>, which seeks to do compelling astrophysics at a lower cost while training the next generation of leaders in space science.<\/p>\n

After launching into low Earth orbit, Pandora will undergo a month of commissioning before embarking on its one-year prime mission. All the mission\u2019s data will be publicly available.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pandora mission is a bold new chapter in exoplanet exploration,\u201d said Daniel Apai, an astronomy and planetary science professor at the University of Arizona<\/a> in Tucson where the mission\u2019s operations center resides. \u201cIt is the first space telescope built specifically to study, in detail, starlight filtered through exoplanet atmospheres. Pandora\u2019s data\u00a0will help scientists interpret observations from past and current missions like NASA\u2019s Kepler<\/a> and Webb space telescopes. And it will guide future projects in their search for habitable worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

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