Mission to study alien atmospheres is one step closer to realization

NASA specialists have completed the assembly of the Pandora mission spacecraft. It is expected that it can be launched as early as this autumn.

The Pandora mission in an artist’s impression. Source: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab

The Pandora mission was approved by NASA in 2021 as part of a program to support projects using small and relatively inexpensive spacecraft that can provide significant scientific results. Its budget (excluding launch costs) is $20 million, which is relatively small by today’s standards.

The main task of the mission is to study exoplanet atmospheres. Pandora will have to determine their key features — in particular, the presence of haze, clouds and water. The spacecraft will do this by tracking transits. When an exoplanet passes in front of its star, light passes through its atmosphere. By comparing the transit spectrum with the star’s light spectrum, astronomers can identify signs of elements and compounds present in the exoplanet’s atmosphere.

However, this process depends on the star itself. If it has particularly dark or bright regions (analogous to sunspots or faculae), they can make the spectrum change over time, degrading the observations. Therefore, Pandora will seek to separate the spectra of the star and planet by simultaneously observing in visible light and infrared.

The Pandora vehicle in a vacuum chamber. Source: NASA/Weston Maughan, BCT

NASA engineers recently completed assembly of the Pandora spacecraft, which will carry scientific instruments and provide control, navigation and power. This is an important step towards launching the mission.

Pandora will study exoplanet spectra using a 45-centimeter aluminum telescope. Its near-infrared detector is a spare instrument originally constructed for the James Webb Telescope (JWST). According to experts, the key difference between the two missions is the timing of the observations. JWST is a flagship observatory that is in huge demand and, unlike Pandora, cannot continuously observe objects for long periods of time.

Pandora will have to observe at least 20 known exoplanets ten times during the main mission year, with each observation lasting a total of 24 hours. According to engineers, the data collected by the spacecraft will have to complement JWST’s observations and lay the foundation for future missions that will search for habitable worlds.

According to NASA

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