Pandora Mission

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/pandora-mission

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the mission type?Proposed space telescope mission for exoplanet characterization
2. What is the proposed year?2004
3. How did Pandora find planets?Pandora would watch stars closely and notice small drops in their light when a planet moves between the star and the telescope. Those drops show that a planet is there.
4. What could Pandora learn about exoplanets?It could measure how big the planet is and how long it takes to orbit its star. It could also study the planet’s atmosphere to see what gases are there.

Exoplanet Characterization: The process of determining the physical and chemical properties of planets outside our solar system.
Transit Photometry: A method of detecting exoplanets by measuring the periodic dimming of a star as a planet transits its face.
Spectrophotometry: Measuring the intensity of light at different wavelengths to analyze the composition of a planet's atmosphere.