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# Pandora begins separating an exoplanet’s atmosphere from its star’s light
- URL: https://pvweekly.com/pandora-exoplanet-star-light-science/
- Published: 2026-10-27T19:29:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-27T19:29:59.000Z
- Description: 2026 archive · The small NASA telescope pairs visible and infrared observations to tackle a source of uncertainty in measurements of distant worlds.
- Author: PV Weekly Editorial
- Tags: Technology & Defense, Archive 2026, #ledger-format, #archive-backfill-20261027

**2026 archive** · August 25, 2026Reporting prepared October 22, 2026\. This retrospective describes events and expectations from the period covered.[Browse the archive](https://pvweekly.com/archive/)

When a planet crosses its star, some starlight passes through the planet’s atmosphere on its way to a telescope. Molecules leave traces in that light. But the telescope also sees a changing star, whose bright and dark surface features can distort the signal astronomers want to measure.

NASA’s Pandora mission began addressing that problem in 2026\. In an August 25 announcement, the agency said the spacecraft had completed commissioning and begun science observations after its January 11 launch.

Pandora measures a star’s visible brightness and near-infrared spectrum simultaneously. Repeated observations help researchers distinguish changes originating on the star from the atmospheric signatures of a planet passing in front of it.

The mission planned to observe at least 20 exoplanets ten times each during its year-long primary science program, watching for 24 hours on each occasion. That long attention to individual targets is its particular contribution to research that also uses the much larger James Webb Space Telescope.

Pandora carries an 18-inch telescope, and its near-infrared detector was originally developed as a spare for Webb. The small mission is designed to supply context that helps scientists interpret those more powerful observations.

### Keeping the observations running

The University of Arizona assumed mission control January 16, five days after launch, following a handover from spacecraft builder Blue Canyon Technologies. Its Multi-Mission Operation Center took responsibility for commands, telemetry monitoring, anomaly response and day-to-day flight operations.

Those responsibilities connect directly to the science plan. A series of day-long observations requires the spacecraft to remain healthy, execute its observing sequences and return usable measurements. Launch and initial checkout established the beginning of that work; the August science announcement followed months of commissioning.

Pandora’s objective is better interpretation of atmospheric signals, including those associated with water, clouds and haze. The announcement did not report finding life or establish the composition of every target planet.

Its more immediate task is demanding enough: measure the star carefully enough that astronomers can tell which features in the combined light actually belong to the planet.

## Sources

- [NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host Stars](https://science.nasa.gov/missions/pandora-missions/nasas-pandora-mission-begins-study-of-exoplanets-host-stars/?ref=pvweekly.com) — NASA · 2026-08-25.
- [U of A takes leading operations role in NASA mission](https://research.arizona.edu/news/u-takes-leading-operations-role-nasa-mission?ref=pvweekly.com) — University of Arizona · 2026-01-28.