SpaceX is set to launch NASA’s exciting exoplanet mission, Pandora, on Sunday morning, January 11. The Falcon 9 rocket will take off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying around 40 payloads, including the Pandora satellite. The launch window opens at 8:19 a.m. EST (1319 GMT, 5:19 a.m. local time).
You can catch the launch live on SpaceX’s website or their social media, with coverage starting 15 minutes before lift-off.
Pandora is a 716-pound (325 kg) satellite that will spend a year observing at least 20 known exoplanets. Equipped with a 17-inch telescope, it will watch these planets as they move across the light of their host stars. This movement, called a “transit,” causes a slight dip in the star’s brightness, a key signal that helps astronomers discover and study exoplanets. In fact, more than 6,000 exoplanets have been found using this transit method.
Understanding the atmospheres of these planets is crucial. Different elements absorb light at particular wavelengths, which can tell scientists a lot about the composition of the atmosphere. Traditional challenges include the varying brightness across star surfaces, making it hard to get clear readings. Pandora aims to tackle this by monitoring the brightness of the stars while collecting infrared data.
“Pandora aims to disentangle the star and planet spectra by monitoring the brightness of the exoplanet’s host star in visible light while also studying infrared data,” NASA representatives say. This approach will help clarify the star’s characteristics, making it easier to understand the planets orbiting them.
Pandora will focus on exoplanets with atmospheres rich in water or hydrogen, which may provide signs of life. The other satellites aboard the Twilight mission include various payloads, like Kepler Communications’ Aether spacecraft and Capella Space’s Acadia Earth-imaging radar satellites.
SpaceX has a strong history with rideshare missions. They’ve successfully launched 15 missions in their Transporter series and four under another program. This launch will mark the fifth flight for this particular Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage. If all goes well, it will return to Vandenberg about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
As we look to the stars, missions like Pandora remind us of the vastness of our universe and the ongoing quest to discover new worlds. According to a recent survey, about 70% of people in the U.S. express excitement about space exploration, showing that interest in the cosmos continues to grow.
For more on NASA’s missions and discoveries, check out their official page here.
