{"id":792882,"date":"2025-01-22T06:39:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T11:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=792882"},"modified":"2025-01-22T06:39:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T11:39:03","slug":"pandora-exoplanet-telescope-to-launch-in-late-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=792882","title":{"rendered":"Pandora exoplanet telescope to launch in late 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_499302\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-499302\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-499302\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">View larger. | Artist\u2019s illustration of the Pandora exoplanet explorer, a new kind of space telescope. The thermal blanketing that will protect the spacecraft isn\u2019t depicted here. The Pandora mission is designed to analyze the atmospheres of at least 20 worlds orbiting distant stars. Image via NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/ Conceptual Image Lab\/ The University of Arizona.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pandora is a small-satellite mission<\/strong>, designed to study exoplanets from Earth\u2019s orbit. The construction of the spacecraft bus, which powers the telescope, has just been completed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Pandora mission will analyze the atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets<\/strong>. It will use newly-designed detectors to more easily sample the light signals passing through the planets\u2019 atmospheres.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The mission is scheduled to launch sometime this fall<\/strong>. It will act as a \u201clittle brother\u201d to the Webb space telescope.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How well can we analyze the atmospheres of exoplanets, or worlds orbiting distant stars? NASA\u2019s upcoming Pandora space telescope is designed specifically for that purpose. And the mission is now one step closer to reality. Construction of the spacecraft bus (or satellite bus), which provides structure, power and other vital systems, has now been completed. Launch is still scheduled for fall of 2025, when, its team says, Pandora will begin its mission to study the atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets. <\/p>\n<p>Mission scientists at the University of Arizona announced the successful completion of the bus on January 15, 2025, at the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (American Astronomical Society meeting) in National Harbor, Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>2025 EarthSky lunar calendar is available. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar with phases of the moon for every night of the year. Get yours today!<\/p>\n<h3>Pandora exoplanet telescope reaches milestone<\/h3>\n<p>Elisa Quintana is Pandora\u2019s principal investigator at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. She said in a statement:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This is a huge milestone for us and keeps us on track for a launch in the fall. The bus holds our instruments and handles navigation, data acquisition and communication with Earth. It\u2019s the brain of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Co-investigator Daniel Apai at The University of Arizona Steward Observatory and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory added:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Although smaller and less sensitive than Webb, Pandora will be able to stare longer at the host stars of extrasolar planets, allowing for deeper study. Better understanding of the stars will help Pandora and its \u2018big brother,\u2019 the James Webb Space Telescope, disentangle signals from stars and their planets.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Pandora was selected as part of NASA\u2019s inaugural call for Pioneer mission concepts in 2021. These were small-scale astrophysics missions greenlighted for further concept development.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pandora, our newest mission to study the atmospheres of at least 20 known planets outside our solar system, is one step closer to launch with the completion of the spacecraft bus! <\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to the team on reaching this major milestone!<\/p>\n<p>More: <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wj1q6amRD6\">pic.twitter.com\/wj1q6amRD6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr. Nicky Fox (@NASAScienceAA) <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NASAScienceAA\/status\/1880982448231608634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>How Pandora will probe alien atmospheres<\/h3>\n<p>So Pandora will study the atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets. It\u2019ll use what astronomers call the transit method to \u201cdisentangle,\u201d as its team says, the light from the star from that of its planet. A transit is when a planet passes in front of \u2013 or transits \u2013 its star as seen from Earth. Using this method, the scientists will be able to analyze light coming from the 20 stars, and their planets, separately. This analysis is expected to reveal which gases or other materials are in the planets\u2019 atmospheres, by determining what scientists call their <em>chemical fingerprints<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>When astronomers speak of <em>chemical fingerprints<\/em>, they\u2019re referring to the unique pattern of lines in the spectrum (the rainbow array of colors) derived from the star-and-planet light. The spectrum reveals specific molecules that are present. Essentially, it provides a unique identifier for the chemical composition of the light, in a way analogous to human fingerprints.<\/p>\n<p>Spectroscopy has been a powerful tool in astronomy for over a century. So, what makes Pandora special? It was designed specifically to help compensate for a known problem in these kinds of observations. That is, the light coming from the star is mixed with \u2013 and can interfere with \u2013 the starlight that passes through the planet\u2019s atmosphere. Apai explained:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In 2018, a doctoral student in my group, Benjamin Rackham \u2013 now a MIT research scientist \u2013 described an astrophysical effect by which light coming directly from the star muddies the signal of the light passing through the exoplanet\u2019s atmosphere. We predicted that this effect would limit Webb\u2019s ability to study habitable planets.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_499466\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-499466\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025.jpg\" alt=\"Squarish metal mechanical object sitting inside a round tube that is open on the end.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-499466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025.jpg 800w, https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2025\/01\/Pandora-spacecraft-bus-Blue-Canyon-Technologies-January-16-2025-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-499466\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pandora\u2019s spacecraft bus, in a thermal-vacuum testing chamber at Blue Canyon Technologies in Lafayette, Colorado. The bus provides the structure, power and other systems for the space telescope. Image via NASA\/ Weston Maughan\/ BCT\/ The University of Arizona.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Separating the light signals of stars and planets<\/h3>\n<p>Since the star and its planets are so far away, the light from the star itself will always overwhelm the light signal passing through the planet\u2019s atmosphere. To get useful information about the planet\u2019s atmosphere, astronomers have to <em>tease out<\/em> the planet\u2019s light signal from the starlight. That\u2019s not an easy task, but Pandora is designed to help.<\/p>\n<p>Pandora will capture a star\u2019s optical and near-infrared spectra at the same time. It\u2019ll do so while also obtaining the transiting planet\u2019s near-infrared spectrum. Then, astronomers will combine all the data, allowing them to separate the light signal of the star from the light signal of the planet. In addition, Pandora also has an advantage \u2013 lacking in other telescopes such the Webb space telescope \u2013 in that it can observe its target star-and-planet systems for extended time periods, within a single observing session. Each observation session will last 24 hours. And each of the 20 (or more) will be observed 10 (or more) times by Pandora.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA | Alien Atmospheres\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CcUhVCMAhAI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/><em>Exoplanets are incredibly far away, but astronomers can now study some of their atmospheres using advanced telescopes like Webb, and soon, Pandora. Video via NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Pandora exoplanet mission will launch in late 2025<\/h3>\n<p>So, Pandora is an exciting mission! And, so far, everything seems to be going smoothly ahead of its launch sometime this fall. Karl Harshman, who is the Mission Operations Manager at The University of Arizona Space Institute, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We have a very excited team that has been working hard to have our Mission Operations Center running at full speed at the time of launch and look forward to receiving science data. Just this week, we performed a communications test with our antenna system that will transmit commands to Pandora and receive the telemetry from the spacecraft.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It will be interesting to see what Pandora finds!<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line: The spacecraft bus for the Pandora exoplanet telescope is now completed. Pandora will analyze the atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets after it launches in late 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Via The University of Arizona<\/p>\n<p>Read more: Some TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets could have stable atmospheres<\/p>\n<p>Read more: Eavesdropping on alien signals between exoplanets<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"cp-load-after-post\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"post-author\">\n<h4>Paul Scott Anderson<\/h4>\n<p>                    View Articles\n                  <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-tags\">\n<h6 data-udy-fe=\"text_7c58270d\">About the Author:<\/h6>\n<p>Paul Scott Anderson has had a passion for space exploration that began when he was a child when he watched Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos. He studied English, writing, art and computer\/publication design in high school and college. He later started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which was later renamed Planetaria. He also later started the blog Fermi Paradoxica, about the search for life elsewhere in the universe.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nWhile interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science and SETI. In 2011, he started writing about space on a freelance basis with Universe Today. He has also written for SpaceFlight Insider and AmericaSpace and has also been published in The Mars Quarterly. He also did some supplementary writing for the iOS app Exoplanet.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nHe has been writing for EarthSky since 2018, and also assists with proofing and social media.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/space\/pandora-exoplanet-telescope-nasa-2025\/?rand=772280\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>View larger. | Artist\u2019s illustration of the Pandora exoplanet explorer, a new kind of space telescope. The thermal blanketing that will protect the spacecraft isn\u2019t depicted here. The Pandora mission&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":792883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-792882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-sky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=792882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/792883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=792882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=792882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=792882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}