Pioneers Program

Not to be confused with Pioneer program.

The Pioneers or Astrophysics Pioneers Program is a NASA program started in 2020 intended to use small-size hardware. The missions are expected to include SmallSats, Balloon payloads, and payloads attached to the ISS, with a $20M cost cap.[1]

Four were the concepts chosen to study in January 2021, which will undergo a review before approval for flight:[2]

  • Aspera, a SmallSat to study galaxy evolution
  • Pandora, a SmallSat to study at least 20 stars and their respective exoplanets in order to determine their atmospherical composition
  • StarBurst, a SmallSat to detect high-energy gamma rays from the merger of neutron stars
  • PUEO, a balloon mission intended to be launched from Antarctica in order to detect signals from neutrinos[3]
  1. ^ "Astrophysics Pioneers | Science Mission Directorate". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  2. ^ "Potentially mind-blowing secrets of the universe could be exposed with new NASA missions". SYFY Official Site. 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  3. ^ "Antarctic balloon mission chosen for NASA Pioneers program | Penn State University". www.psu.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-13.