The United States space agency NASA launched a new satellite mission into low-Earth orbit on Sunday (11/1) local time, to study the atmospheres of exoplanets and their host stars.The mission, codenamed Pandora, was launched using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday at 5:44 a.m. Pacific Time (8:44 p.m. WIB) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the State of California, United States.
Pandora will examine at least 20 exoplanets and their host stars.
The satellite will make long-term, continuous observations as the planets orbit their respective stars, while simultaneously collecting visible and near-infrared light.
This data will help researchers distinguish signals coming from those planets from those coming from their host stars, NASA said.
The Pandora observation mission is expected to determine whether the planet's atmosphere contains haze, clouds, or water, or whether the apparent signals from these substances actually come from its star, NASA explained.
