Pioneers Program Explained

Pioneers Program should not 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]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Astrophysics Pioneers Science Mission Directorate. 2021-11-13. science.nasa.gov.
2. Web site: 2021-01-15. Potentially mind-blowing secrets of the universe could be exposed with new NASA missions. 2021-11-13. SYFY Official Site. en-US.
3. Web site: Antarctic balloon mission chosen for NASA Pioneers program Penn State University. 2021-11-13. www.psu.edu. en.