NASA's Pandora Telescope Now in Sun-Synchronous Orbit to Study Exoplanets

NASA’s Pandora space telescope satellite has separated from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage and is now in sun-synchronous orbit, preparing to study planets and their host stars beyond our solar system.

Pandora will spend the next year conducting detailed observations of 20 exoplanets to determine whether any of their atmospheres contain water vapor, hazes, and clouds. It will simultaneously study the stars that host those planets to discover whether the stars are producing or affecting the signals attributed to those substances.

Two other NASA-sponsored CubeSats, SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat) and BlackCAT (Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope), also separated from the Falcon 9 second stage. The agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative selected SPARCS in 2022 for a ride to orbit; the initiative is described as a low-cost pathway for scientific investigations and technology demonstrations that enables students, teachers, and faculty to gain hands-on experience with flight hardware design, development, and building. The CubeSat is manifested as part of the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) 60 launch grouping.

Confirmation of signal acquisition from Pandora is the next expected milestone.

Key Topics

Science, Pandora Telescope, Exoplanets, Sun-synchronous Orbit, Sparcs Cubesat