'Made of Aluminium': NASA's new Pandora Mission set to assist James Webb Telescope in examining 20 alien planets

Produced by Tarun Mishra

Spacecraft Bus

NASA's Pandora mission has moved forward with the completion of its spacecraft bus, which supports the mission's structure, power, and systems. This milestone was shared during a press briefing at the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Launch Schedule

The spacecraft bus's completion keeps Pandora on track for a fall launch, as stated by Elisa Quintana, the mission's principal investigator from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Mission Objectives

Pandora is designed to study the atmospheres of at least 20 known exoplanets, focusing on compositions, including hazes, clouds, and water. This will complement data from the James Webb Space Telescope to better understand potential habitability.

Scientific Method

Utilising transit observations, Pandora will analyse how starlight interacts with an exoplanet's atmosphere, revealing chemical signatures. Its unique capability to stare at stars for extended periods will help differentiate between stellar and planetary signals.

Technological Innovation

Pandora will employ a novel 45-centimetre-wide all-aluminium telescope developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Corning Specialty Materials. This telescope will capture both visible and near-infrared spectra to disentangle star and planetary light.

Mission Operation

The University of Arizona's Space Institute will host Pandora's mission operations centre. The mission will involve year-long observations, with each of the 20 planets studied over 10 sessions, including transit events.

Collaboration

Pandora is a collaborative effort led by NASA Goddard, with significant contributions from Lawrence Livermore, Corning, Blue Canyon Technologies for spacecraft assembly, and NASA Ames for data processing. The mission also involves multiple universities supporting the science team, emphasising the collective effort in advancing our understanding of exoplanets.