Exoplanet systems
Pandora
NASA SmallSat observatory studying exoplanet atmospheres and the changing light of their host stars.
Active. NASA reported in August 2026 that Pandora began its exoplanet and host-star observing programme after commissioning.
View in 3D map ↗Official mission site ↗The mission
Pandora is NASA's first Astrophysics Pioneers satellite. The small observatory makes long-duration visible and infrared observations of transiting exoplanets and their host stars to distinguish stellar variability from atmospheric signatures.
The launch
- Launch
- January 11, 2026
- Launch location
- SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB
- Launch vehicle
- Falcon 9
- Orbit
- Low Earth orbit
Launch intelligence
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was set to launch the Twilight Rideshare mission on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 1:44 PM (UTC).
- Launch provider
- SpaceX
- Vehicle
- Falcon 9
- COSPAR launch ID
- 2026-004
- Flight profile
- Orbital
- Launch result
- Pending
- Window opens
- Jan 11, 2026, 13:44 UTC
- Target T-0
- Not published
- Window closes
- Not published
- Provider display
- Jan 11
- Pad and location
- SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB
Launch media
Mission timeline
Follow the mission through its available trajectory data in the full 3D solar-system map.
- Now
Current mission status
Now
Active. NASA reported in August 2026 that Pandora began its exoplanet and host-star observing programme after commissioning.
Objectives
- 01
Observe exoplanet transits in visible and infrared light.
- 02
Separate host-star variability from planetary atmospheric signals.
- 03
Characterize the atmospheres of at least 20 exoplanets.
Spacecraft
Pandora
NASA Astrophysics Pioneers SmallSat for simultaneous visible and infrared exoplanet transit observations.
- Visible-light imager
- Near-infrared spectrograph
Gallery
2 images from Pandora.
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