Pandora Mission Archives - Astrobiology

The absorption cross sections of common absorbers in exoplanet atmospheres considered in this work, shown at a pressure and temperature of 0.1 mbar and 1000 K. The wavelength coverage of Pandora’s NIR detector (NIRDA), JWST’s NIRCam F322W2 and F444W filters, and HST’s WFC3 instrument (for the G141 grism) are shown. Pandora/NIRDA covers absorption bands of H2O, CH4, NH3 and the wing of the K doublet, making it most sensitive to these absorbers. -- NASA

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cubesats and smallsats, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

NASA’s Pandora SmallSat Mission: Simulated Modeling and Retrieval of Near-Infrared Exoplanet Transmission Spectra

by Keith CowingMarch 9, 2026March 9, 2026

Pandora is a SmallSat mission dedicated to understanding exoplanets and their host stars by disentangling the impact of stellar heterogeneity on exoplanet transmission spectra.

Launch Of Pandora Satellite And CubeSats To Explore Exoplanets

Astronomy & Telescopes, Cubesats and smallsats, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Launch Of Pandora Satellite And CubeSats To Explore Exoplanets (Update)

by Keith CowingJanuary 10, 2026January 11, 2026

Update: Pandora was launched on 11 January 2026 at 8:44 am ET. A new NASA spacecraft called Pandora is awaiting launch ahead of its journey to study the atmospheres of […]

Located about 39 light-years from Earth, the TRAPPIST system resembles a miniature version of our solar system: The star, an ultracool red dwarf, and all its planets would comfortably fit inside the orbit of planet Mercury. Credit NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Titan, TRAPPIST-1

A New Look At TRAPPIST-1e, An Earth-sized, Habitable-zone Exoplanet

by Keith CowingDecember 5, 2025December 5, 2025

Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists, because it orbits the star within the “Goldilocks zone” […]

Pandora mission -- NASA

Astronomy & Telescopes, Commercial & Private Sector, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

NASA Awards Launch Service Task Order for Pandora Exoplanet Mission

by Keith CowingFebruary 11, 2025

NASA has selected SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, to provide the launch service for the agency’s Pandora mission, which will study at least 20 known exoplanets and their host stars to […]

Artist's concept of Pandora viewing a transiting exoplanet An artist's concept of the Pandora mission, seen here without the thermal blanketing that will protect the spacecraft, observing a star and its transiting exoplanet. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cubesats and smallsats, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

The Pandora Mission Will Study Exoplanet Atmospheres

by Keith CowingJanuary 17, 2025January 17, 2025

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission, is one step closer to launch with the completion of the spacecraft bus, which provides the structure, power, and other systems that will enable the […]