Overview
- Mission controllers acquired full signal from Pandora in Sun‑synchronous orbit, verifying spacecraft health and initial operations.
- Pandora launched Jan. 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base as a rideshare with SPARCS and BlackCAT.
- The observatory will monitor each target for 24 hours per visit, repeating ten times per system to model and remove starspot‑driven variability.
- A roughly one‑year campaign will target at least 20 exoplanet systems to refine atmospheric readings and help interpret James Webb observations.
- NASA Goddard leads with the infrared sensor, Lawrence Livermore and Corning built the telescope, Blue Canyon supplied the bus, NASA Ames will process data, and operations are based at the University of Arizona.