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Pandora Mission
NASA mission to study exoplanet atmospheres From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.[1][2][3] The budget for each mission was $20 million.[4]
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.[1][5]
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.[6] 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.[7][8]
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Construction and launch
The spacecraft bus completed construction in January 2025. The spacecraft is due to launch in September 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9,[9] possibly on a Transporter rideshare mission.[10][11][12]
Notes and references
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