NASA successfully launched its new exoplanet telescope, Pandora, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 11, 2026. This mission aims to enhance the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system, complementing the work of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The launch took place at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, marking a significant milestone in the exploration of exoplanets—planets that orbit stars outside our solar system.
Exoplanets are notoriously difficult to observe due to their faintness compared to their host stars, which can be millions to billions of times brighter. The unique capabilities of the Pandora telescope will allow scientists to delve deeper into the atmospheres of these distant worlds, potentially uncovering signs of life. As a co-investigator of Pandora and an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona, I am particularly invested in this mission, leading the exoplanet science working group.
Understanding Stellar Noise
Pandora was designed to tackle a significant challenge in exoplanet research known as the “transit light source effect.” This phenomenon occurs when starspots—cooler, active regions on stars—interfere with measurements of planetary atmospheres. In a series of studies published in 2018 and 2019, my colleagues and I highlighted how these variations could mislead astronomers into misinterpreting data related to the presence of water vapor and other gases around exoplanets.
Our findings indicated that the James Webb Space Telescope would not be able to reach its full potential without addressing this issue. We likened the situation to trying to judge a fine wine based on flickering candlelight. The launch of Pandora aims to provide the steady, detailed observations necessary to clarify these measurements.
Innovative Approach and Capabilities
The development of Pandora stemmed from a proposal by Elisa Quintana and Tom Barclay from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who envisioned a rapid response to the challenges faced by JWST. This approach diverged from traditional NASA missions, allowing us to construct Pandora more quickly and at a lower cost while accepting some inherent risks.
While Pandora is smaller and less powerful than JWST, it possesses unique capabilities. It will conduct long-duration observations of stars, gathering data on their brightness and color variations over extended periods. By monitoring these changes, Pandora can provide insights into how stellar activity impacts the measurements of exoplanet transits. The telescope will revisit its target stars multiple times throughout the year, spending over 200 hours on each, a level of detail not achievable by JWST.
As of now, Pandora is successfully orbiting Earth every 90 minutes. The systems and functions of the telescope are being rigorously tested by Blue Canyon Technologies, the primary builder of the mission. Control of the spacecraft will soon transition to the Multi-Mission Operation Center at the University of Arizona, where the scientific work will commence in earnest.
With Pandora operational, researchers are set to capture starlight filtered through the atmospheres of distant worlds, paving the way for unprecedented discoveries in exoplanet science. The data collected by Pandora, combined with that from the James Webb Space Telescope, will allow scientists to analyze exoplanet atmospheres with unparalleled precision. As we embark on this new chapter of exploration, the potential for discovering signs of life on other planets has never been more promising.
