<div class="" data-article-body="true"><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">On Jan. 11, 2026, I watched anxiously at the tightly controlled <a href="https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Vandenberg Space Force Base;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Vandenberg Space Force Base</a> in California as an awe-inspiring <a href="http://spacex.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:SpaceX;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">SpaceX</a> <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Falcon 9;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Falcon 9</a> rocket <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/twilight" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:carried;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">carried</a> <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/nasas-pandora-satellite-cubesats-to-explore-exoplanets-beyond/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:NASA’s new exoplanet telescope, Pandora;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">NASA’s new exoplanet telescope, Pandora</a>, into orbit.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Exoplanets are worlds that orbit other stars. They are very difficult to observe because – seen from Earth – they appear as extremely faint dots right next to their host stars, which are millions to billions of times brighter and drown out the light reflected by the planets. The Pandora telescope will join and complement <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-james-webb-space-telescope-has-revealed-a-surprisingly-bright-complex-and-element-filled-early-universe-podcast-196649" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope</a> in studying these faraway planets and the stars they orbit.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="https://apai.space" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:I am;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">I am</a> an astronomy professor at <a href="https://arizona.edu" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:the University of Arizona;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">the University of Arizona</a> who specializes in studies of planets around other stars and astrobiology. I am a co-investigator of Pandora and leading its exoplanet science working group. We built Pandora to shatter a barrier – to understand and remove a source of noise in the data – that limits our ability to study small exoplanets in detail and search for life on them.</p><h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Observing exoplanets</h2><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Astronomers have a trick to study exoplanet atmospheres. By observing the planets as they orbit in front of their host stars, we can <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/whats-a-transit/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:study starlight;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">study starlight</a> that filters through their atmospheres.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">These planetary transit observations are similar to holding a glass of red wine up to a candle: The light filtering through will show fine details that reveal the quality of the wine. By analyzing starlight filtered through the planets’ atmospheres, astronomers can find evidence for water vapor, hydrogen, clouds and <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-search-for-alien-life-astronomers-will-look-for-clues-in-the-atmospheres-of-distant-planets-and-the-james-webb-space-telescope-just-proved-its-possible-to-do-so-184828" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:even search for evidence of life;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">even search for evidence of life</a>. Researchers improved transit observations <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002ApJ...568..377C/abstract" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:in 2002;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">in 2002</a>, opening an exciting window to new worlds.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">For a while, it seemed to work perfectly. But, starting from 2007, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12852.x" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:astronomers noted;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">astronomers noted</a> that starspots – cooler, active regions on the stars – may disturb the transit measurements.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">In 2018 and 2019, then-Ph.D. student <a href="https://brackham.github.io" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Benjamin V. Rackham;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Benjamin V. Rackham</a>, astrophysicist <a href="https://astro.arizona.edu/person/mark-giampapa" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Mark Giampapa;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Mark Giampapa</a> and I published a <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/public-libraries/D3fjvbKfSoO7goI9jiwIkw" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:series of studies;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">series of studies</a> showing how darker starspots and brighter, magnetically active stellar regions can seriously mislead exoplanets measurements. We dubbed this problem “the transit light source effect.”</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Most stars <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-activity/en/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:are spotted;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">are spotted</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sun-study-shows-its-less-active-than-sibling-stars-heres-what-that-could-mean-137457" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:active and change continuously;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">active and change continuously</a>. Ben, Mark and I showed that these changes alter the signals from exoplanets. To make things worse, some stars also have water vapor in their upper layers – often more prominent in starspots than outside of them. That and other gases can confuse astronomers, who may think that they found water vapor in the planet.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">In our papers – published three years before the 2021 launch of the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:James Webb Space Telescope;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">James Webb Space Telescope</a> – we predicted that the Webb cannot reach its full potential. We sounded the alarm bell. Astronomers realized that we were trying to judge our wine in light of flickering, unstable candles.</p><h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">The birth of Pandora</h2><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">For me, Pandora began with an intriguing email from NASA in 2018. Two prominent scientists from NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Goddard Space Flight Center;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Goddard Space Flight Center</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisa_Quintana" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Elisa Quintana;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Elisa Quintana</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=Az-8dqUAAAAJ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Tom Barclay;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Tom Barclay</a>, asked to chat. They had an unusual plan: They wanted to build a space telescope very quickly to help tackle stellar contamination – in time to assist Webb. This was an exciting idea, but also very challenging. Space telescopes are very complex, and not something that you would normally want to put together in a rush.</p><figure class="relative mb-4"><div class="relative"><img alt="The Pandora spacecraft with an exoplanet and two stars in the background" loading="lazy" width="960" height="480" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5GKyDcCBJarunNWyb8FjVQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTQ4MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_us_articles_815/83a62fae4024489986d9f207fbb3ff4e"><button aria-label="View larger image" class="group absolute bottom-0 size-full" data-ylk="elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;"><span class="absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none"><svg viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-hidden="true" class="size-4 lg:size-6" width="22" height="22"><path d="M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z"></path></svg></span></button><dialog aria-label="Modal Dialog" aria-modal="true" class="fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden"></dialog></div><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5"><div style="max-height:none;overflow:visible">Artist’s concept of NASA’s Pandora Space Telescope. <a href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14945/#section_credits" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:CC BY;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">CC BY</a></div></figcaption></figure><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Pandora breaks with NASA’s conventional model. We proposed and built Pandora faster and at a significantly lower cost than is typical for NASA missions. Our approach meant keeping the mission simple and accepting somewhat higher risks.</p><h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">What makes Pandora special?</h2><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Pandora is smaller and cannot collect as much light as its bigger brother Webb. But Pandora will do what Webb cannot: It will be able to patiently observe stars to understand how their complex atmospheres change.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">By staring at a star for 24 hours with visible <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:and infrared;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">and infrared</a> cameras, it will measure subtle changes in the star’s brightness and colors. When active regions in the star rotate in and out of view, and starspots form, evolve and dissipate, Pandora will record them. While Webb very rarely returns to the same planet in the same instrument configuration and almost never monitors their host stars, Pandora will revisit its target stars 10 times over a year, spending over 200 hours on each of them.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">With that information, our Pandora team will be able to figure out how the changes in the stars affect the observed planetary transits. Like Webb, Pandora will observe the planetary transit events, too. By combining data from Pandora and Webb, our team will be able to understand what exoplanet atmospheres are made of in more detail than ever before.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">After the successful launch, Pandora is now circling Earth about every 90 minutes. Pandora’s systems and functions are now being tested thoroughly by <a href="https://www.bluecanyontech.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Blue Canyon Technologies;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Blue Canyon Technologies</a>, Pandora’s primary builder.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">About a week after launch, control of the spacecraft will transition to the <a href="https://arizona.edu" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:University of Arizona’s;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">University of Arizona’s</a> <a href="https://space.arizona.edu/services/multi-mission-operations-center" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Multi-Mission Operation Center;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Multi-Mission Operation Center</a> in Tucson, Arizona. Then the work of our science teams begins in earnest and we will begin capturing starlight filtered through the atmospheres of other worlds – and see them with a new, steady eye.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com/us?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link-0&amp;utm_content=article-272155" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:The Conversation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">The Conversation</a>, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/daniel-apai-555353?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=byline-link&amp;utm_content=article-272155" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Daniel Apai;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Daniel Apai</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-arizona-959?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=byline-link&amp;utm_content=article-272155" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:University of Arizona;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">University of Arizona</a></em> </em></p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><strong>Read more:</strong><br></p><ul class="mb-4"><li class="ml-4 list-disc"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="http://theconversation.com/could-a-telescope-ever-see-the-beginning-of-time-an-astronomer-explains-221568?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link0&amp;utm_content=article-272155" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains</a></p></div></li><li class="ml-4 list-disc"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="http://theconversation.com/how-the-hubble-space-telescope-opened-our-eyes-to-the-first-galaxies-of-the-universe-133877?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link1&amp;utm_content=article-272155" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:How the Hubble Space Telescope opened our eyes to the first galaxies of the universe;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">How the Hubble Space Telescope opened our eyes to the first galaxies of the universe</a></p></div></li><li class="ml-4 list-disc"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="http://theconversation.com/beyond-the-habitable-zone-exoplanet-atmospheres-are-the-next-clue-to-finding-life-on-planets-orbiting-distant-stars-267498?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link2&amp;utm_content=article-272155" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Beyond the habitable zone: Exoplanet atmospheres are the next clue to finding life on planets orbiting distant stars;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Beyond the habitable zone: Exoplanet atmospheres are the next clue to finding life on planets orbiting distant stars</a></p></div></li></ul><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em><span>Daniel Apai is a professor of astronomy, planetary sciences and optical science at the University of Arizona. He receives funding from NASA. </span></em></p></div>

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