NASA's Pandora Mission Will Study Alien Atmospheres

Alien Atmospheres Pandora—a new, small satellite designed to characterize exoplanet atmospheres and their host stars—is slated to observe at least 20 planets during its one year of science operations. Scheduled to launch no earlier than 8:19 a.m. EST on Sunday, Jan. 11, Pandora will study planets discovered by other missions using transits, events where planets passing in front of their stars cause tiny dips in starlight. Scientists are interested in further observing these worlds because transits can also reveal information about the planet’s atmosphere.