The Pandora SmallSat: a mission to spectroscopically study exoplanet atmospheres

Kelsey Hoffman; Elisa V. Quintana; Jessie L. Dotson; Knicole D. Colón; Thomas Barclay; Pete Supsinskas; Jordan Karburn; Dániel Apai; Christina Hedges; Benjamin V. Rackham; Jason F. Rowe; Jessie L. Christiansen; Thomas P. Greene; James Mason; Gregory Mosby; Néstor Espinoza; Emily Gilbert; Veselin B. Kostov; Nikole K. Lewis; Brett M. Morris; Susan E. Mullally; Elisabeth R. Newton; Joshua E. Schlieder; Allison Youngblood; Trevor Foote; Megan Mansfield; Kevin B. Stevenson; Steven Villanueva; Joshua Pepper

doi:10.1117/12.2629546

27 August 2022 The Pandora SmallSat: a mission to spectroscopically study exoplanet atmospheres

Kelsey Hoffman, Elisa V. Quintana, Jessie L. Dotson, Knicole D. Colón, Thomas Barclay, Pete Supsinskas, Jordan Karburn, Dániel Apai, Christina Hedges, Benjamin V. Rackham, Jason F. Rowe, Jessie L. Christiansen, Thomas P. Greene, James Mason, Gregory Mosby, Néstor Espinoza, Emily Gilbert, Veselin B. Kostov, Nikole K. Lewis, Brett M. Morris, Susan E. Mullally, Elisabeth R. Newton, Joshua E. Schlieder, Allison Youngblood, Trevor Foote, Megan Mansfield, Kevin B. Stevenson, Steven Villanueva, Joshua Pepper

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 121800C (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629546
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

Pandora is a low-cost space telescope designed to measure the composition of distant transiting planets. The Pandora observatory is designed with the capability of measuring precision photometry simultaneously with nearinfrared spectroscopy, enabling scientists to disentangle stellar activity from the subtle signature of a planetary atmosphere. The broad-wavelength coverage will provide constraints on the spot and faculae covering fractions of low-mass exoplanet host stars and the impact of these active regions on exoplanetary transmission spectra. Pandora will subsequently identify exoplanets with hydrogen- or water-dominated atmospheres, and robustly determine which planets are covered by clouds and hazes. Pandora observations will also contribute to the study of transit timing variations and phase curve photometry. With a launch readiness date of early-2025, the Pandora mission represents a new class of low-cost space missions that will achieve out-of-this-world science.

Conference Presentation

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Kelsey Hoffman, Elisa V. Quintana, Jessie L. Dotson, Knicole D. Colón, Thomas Barclay, Pete Supsinskas, Jordan Karburn, Dániel Apai, Christina Hedges, Benjamin V. Rackham, Jason F. Rowe, Jessie L. Christiansen, Thomas P. Greene, James Mason, Gregory Mosby, Néstor Espinoza, Emily Gilbert, Veselin B. Kostov, Nikole K. Lewis, Brett M. Morris, Susan E. Mullally, Elisabeth R. Newton, Joshua E. Schlieder, Allison Youngblood, Trevor Foote, Megan Mansfield, Kevin B. Stevenson, Steven Villanueva, and Joshua Pepper "The Pandora SmallSat: a mission to spectroscopically study exoplanet atmospheres", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 121800C (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629546

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