SpaceX has been awarded a contract by NASA to launch the Pandora spacecraft, a small exoplanet science mission. The launch, slated for as early as September, will utilize a rideshare payload arrangement via NASA's Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract. This contract facilitates the launch of smaller missions with higher risk tolerances.
Pandora, a small satellite mission under NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program, is equipped with a 45-centimeter telescope featuring both optical and infrared detectors. Its mission: to observe 20 stars known to host exoplanets over a year-long period. "Pandora’s primary goal is to probe into the atmospheres of exoplanets using transmission spectroscopy," explained Elisa Quintana, the mission's principal investigator, during a January 11 presentation to the Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG).
The mission's crucial objective is to ascertain whether spectral signatures observed in certain exoplanets are attributable to the presence of hydrogen or water in their atmospheres, or if these signatures stem from stellar variability. "Stars are not uniform," Quintana emphasized, highlighting Pandora's role as "essentially a calibration instrument to help address this problem."
While NASA's announcement didn't specify a launch date or contract value, Quintana indicated a September launch as a rideshare payload is anticipated. Pandora, categorized as an ESPA Grande-class spacecraft (up to 320 kilograms), is designed for a sun-synchronous orbit, hinting at a launch via SpaceX's Transporter rideshare missions. Neither NASA nor SpaceX offered further details regarding the specifics of the launch.