Paper 14145-4
Paper 14145-4
The Pandora SmallSat: post-launch operations and mission update
5 July 2026 • 10:30 - 10:50 CEST | Room B4-M3
Abstract
The Pandora SmallSat is a NASA Pioneers mission designed to disentangle stellar activity from planetary atmospheric signatures in transmission spectroscopy observations through simultaneous visible photometry and near-infrared spectroscopy. Pandora’s baseline mission lifetime includes a one-month commissioning period followed by a prime mission period of 12 months for science observations. Herein, we present a comprehensive post-launch mission update, detailing operational performance and current observational strategy. We will also highlight key operational milestones, challenges encountered during commissioning and early science operations, and solutions implemented. This information provides insight into Pandora's on-orbit capabilities for precision multiwavelength observations that enable reliable determination of exoplanet atmosphere compositions.
Presenter
NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr. (United States)
Trevor Foote is a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center where he serves as the Mission Manager for the Pandora SmallSat mission. In this role, he oversees the day-to-day operations and management of this innovative spacecraft designed to study exoplanets and their host stars through multiwavelength characterization.
Dr. Foote earned his PhD from Cornell University, where his research focused on exoplanet atomspheric characterization and mission planning.