KEYWORDS: James Webb Space Telescope, Near infrared, Atmospheric modeling, Point spread functions, Stars, Planets, Exoplanets, Atmospheric sciences, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Modeling and simulation
Pandora is a SmallSat mission, designed to study the atmospheres of exoplanets using transmission spectroscopy and to investigate the impact that stellar contamination and variability has on observing the spectra of these worlds. Pandora’s initial science operation lifetime is one year, so optimizing the science return is critical. Here we present two tools created to assist in the design process. The first is a 2-D spectrum simulator being developed to help refine target selection, optimize observation strategies, and assist in the creation of a data reduction pipeline. The second is a pseudo-retrieval framework that provides a quantifiable method for comparing potential targets against a handful of exoplanetary atmospheric parameters important to the Pandora mission. Preliminary results show Pandora will place tighter constraints on atmospheric properties like water abundance compared to HST and answering its mission objectives will help to inform targets for missions like JWST.
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.
NASA’s return to the Moon coincides with explosive growth in exoplanet discovery. Missions are being formulated to search for habitable planets orbiting other stars, making this the ideal time to deploy an instrument suite to the lunar surface to help us recognize a habitable exoplanet when we see it. We present EarthShine, a technically mature, three-instrument suite to observe the whole Earth from the Moon as an exoplanet proxy. EarthShine data will validate and improve models critical for designing missions to image and characterize exoplanets, thus informing observing strategies for flagship missions to directly image exoplanets. EarthShine will answer interconnected questions in Earth and lunar science, exoplanets, and astrobiology, related to the credo “follow the water.” EarthShine can take advantage of current NASA programs to conduct science from the Moon with low-cost, mature space hardware to reduce risk and assure success. Like the 1968 Apollo Earthrise image of our home planet, lonely in the black sky, the appeal of EarthShine to a multidisciplinary array of researchers in Earth Science, Planetary Science, and astrophysics will maximize both its scientific impact and its impact on the general public.
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