Pandora Will Study Exoplanets
Pandora is a SmallSat mission designed to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, and was selected as part of NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers Program. Pandora will collect visible and near IR observations of exoplanets during transit, and will study both the planet atmosphere and the host star variability using long time baseline observations. Pandora will study 20 unique exoplanets.
Pandora Will Support JWST
Detecting water absorption in transmission spectra is more challenging from the ground than from space, because Earth’s atmosphere has poor transmission and is highly variable at these wavelengths. JWST does not observe in the optical, which is critical for quantifying stellar contamination. Pandora’s long-time-baseline, simultaneous optical and NIR data are unique and fill a critical gap in NASA's goal of characterizing the atmospheres of small exoplanets.
Pandora Data Is For Everyone
A core philosophy of Pandora is to ensure that the data collected and the tools developed can be valuable beyond the core science team and science objectives. Pandora will provide the data and software used by the mission team to the science community. Pandora's data products include raw data, calibrated images, calibrated light curves, calibrated spectra, the data processing pipeline, and key mission publications. All of these products will be archived and publicly distributed.