The Pandora SmallSat: Target Selection and Early Science
Abstract
The Pandora spacecraft is a smallsat selected in NASA's inaugural class of Pioneers missions. The aim of the Pandora mission is to disentangle stellar activity signals from exoplanet atmospheric transmission spectroscopy measurements. Pandora accomplishes this goal with its combined visible photometry and NIR spectroscopy that observe each target in the prime mission for 10 separate transit observations, each spanning 24 hours at a time. Targets were carefully selected for the Pandora prime mission. Pandora is specifically studying planets around low-mass stellar hosts (K and M dwarf stars) spanning a range of rotation periods and activity levels. The planets range in size from 1.5 - 15 Earth radii and orbital periods ranging from 1.7 - 11.5 days. In addition to the 10 transit visits planned for each of the 20 prime mission targets, Pandora is observing a number of auxiliary targets encompassing a variety of science topics. This includes topics such as stellar activity and young systems, transit timing variations of exoplanets, brown dwarf compositions, exoplanet phase curves, etc. We will discuss the selection of these targets, how they have been scheduled to fill in gaps in prime mission operations, and early science results. If the mission is extended, there is further opportunity for accomplishing additional science. Here we will discuss the possible options for extended mission operations and science.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{gilbert2026pandora,
title = {{The Pandora SmallSat: Target Selection and Early Science}},
author = {Emily A. Gilbert and Elisa V. Quintana and Jessie L. Dotson and Knicole D. Colón and Thomas Barclay and Pete Supsinskas and Jordan Karburn and Dániel Apai and Christina Hedges and Benjamin V. Rackham and Jason F. Rowe and David Ciardi and Natalie H. Allen and Jessie Christiansen and Néstor Espinoza and Trevor O. Foote and Nguyen Fuda and Aylin Garcia Soto and Thomas P. Greene and Kelsey Hoffman and Rae Holcomb and Benjamin J. Hord and Aishwarya R. Iyer and Aurora Y. Kesseli and Veselin B. Kostov and Nikole K. Lewis and Sarah E. Logsdon and Andrew W. Mann and Megan Mansfield and James Mason and Peter McGill and Julie Moquin and Brett M. Morris and Gregory Mosby and Susan E. Mullallym and Elisabeth R. Newton and Joe P. Renaud and Yoav Rotman and Suman Saha and Joshua E. Schlieder and Luis Welbanks and Lindsey S. Wiser and Allison Youngblood and Robert T. Zellem},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.30028},
eprint = {2610.30028},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30028},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Pandora SmallSat: Target Selection and Early Science
AU - Emily A. Gilbert
AU - Elisa V. Quintana
AU - Jessie L. Dotson
AU - Knicole D. Colón
AU - Thomas Barclay
AU - Pete Supsinskas
AU - Jordan Karburn
AU - Dániel Apai
AU - Christina Hedges
AU - Benjamin V. Rackham
AU - Jason F. Rowe
AU - David Ciardi
AU - Natalie H. Allen
AU - Jessie Christiansen
AU - Néstor Espinoza
AU - Trevor O. Foote
AU - Nguyen Fuda
AU - Aylin Garcia Soto
AU - Thomas P. Greene
AU - Kelsey Hoffman
AU - Rae Holcomb
AU - Benjamin J. Hord
AU - Aishwarya R. Iyer
AU - Aurora Y. Kesseli
AU - Veselin B. Kostov
AU - Nikole K. Lewis
AU - Sarah E. Logsdon
AU - Andrew W. Mann
AU - Megan Mansfield
AU - James Mason
AU - Peter McGill
AU - Julie Moquin
AU - Brett M. Morris
AU - Gregory Mosby
AU - Susan E. Mullallym
AU - Elisabeth R. Newton
AU - Joe P. Renaud
AU - Yoav Rotman
AU - Suman Saha
AU - Joshua E. Schlieder
AU - Luis Welbanks
AU - Lindsey S. Wiser
AU - Allison Youngblood
AU - Robert T. Zellem
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.30028
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30028
AB - The Pandora spacecraft is a smallsat selected in NASA's inaugural class of Pioneers missions. The aim of the Pandora mission is to disentangle stellar activity signals from exoplanet atmospheric transmission spectroscopy measurements. Pandora accomplishes this goal with its combined visible photometry and NIR spectroscopy that observe each target in the prime mission for 10 separate transit observations, each spanning 24 hours at a time. Targets were carefully selected for the Pandora prime mission. Pandora is specifically studying planets around low-mass stellar hosts (K and M dwarf stars) spanning a range of rotation periods and activity levels. The planets range in size from 1.5 - 15 Earth radii and orbital periods ranging from 1.7 - 11.5 days. In addition to the 10 transit visits planned for each of the 20 prime mission targets, Pandora is observing a number of auxiliary targets encompassing a variety of science topics. This includes topics such as stellar activity and young systems, transit timing variations of exoplanets, brown dwarf compositions, exoplanet phase curves, etc. We will discuss the selection of these targets, how they have been scheduled to fill in gaps in prime mission operations, and early science results. If the mission is extended, there is further opportunity for accomplishing additional science. Here we will discuss the possible options for extended mission operations and science.
ER -