Astrophysicist, Planetary Scientist, and Professor at Univ. Arizona. Lead of the Alien Earths NASA-funded astrobiology team. Own opinions.
Tucson, Arizona
Joined April 2008
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Can we build and launch powerful space telescopes much faster? Yes!! Great ideas and lot of positive energy at the 2-day NASA meeting in D.C. on Accelerating Innovation for Astrophysics missions! It was great to see friends and colleagues, and work on an even brighter, innovative, and fast-paced future for NASA Astrophysics. I am particularly excited by the enthusiasm for novel space observatory architectures - moving faster is only possible if we are willing to think in novel ways. Discoveries await! @NASA
Daniel Apai retweeted
SPARCS' First Light images demonstrate that it is working on orbit. Exciting science times ahead! Congratulations to the whole team including those at @ASU, @NASAJPL, and @NASA. nasa.gov/science-research/as…
Daniel Apai retweeted
Highlighting a new paper from UA/LPL Grad Student Arin Avsar that places some of the first constraints on the population of planetesimals (~30-100km asteroids) around young stars! arxiv.org/abs/2603.07376
Daniel Apai retweeted
Nature wrote an article about my role on NASA’s Pandora mission! Aside from being a cutting-edge exoplanet explorer, Pandora serves as a way for early career folks to gain hands-on experience serving in mission leadership roles. Read about it here:
nature.com/articles/d41586-0…
What if Earth-sized HZ worlds don’t have exactly Earth-like climate feedbacks? Climate Chaos, Snowballs, run-aways - but also many temperate yet not-Earth-like worlds! Congrats to Chaucer Langbert on this cool study!
arxiv.org/abs/2602.10369 @StewardAstro @UArizonaLPL @uazresearch
Daniel Apai retweeted
The Pandora satellite provides career training grounds while observing exoplanets
go.nature.com/3Zjr2Xq
Daniel Apai retweeted
Galaxy Slam takes place February 14-21 and features LPL Associate Professors Kris Klein and Ty Robinson! youtube.com/watch?v=fhxf4Xpe…
Daniel Apai retweeted
In its first year, our new exoplanet explorer Pandora will study 20+ worlds beyond our solar system. On the list is puffy gas giant WASP-107 b. In 2024, @NASAWebb revealed that its core is hotter and more massive than we expected. What will Pandora find? go.nasa.gov/3NWEY6Z
Daniel Apai retweeted
Pandora is now operated from @uarizona’s Multi-Mission Operation Center, marking the first on-orbit @NASA mission managed by the university. Pandora will study exoplanet atmospheres while the U of A leads end-to-end mission operations. More: tinyurl.com/3nbpdnp7
ALT Staff members seated at desks look at space images on a large screen
Our @NASA Pandora space telescope is on orbit!! Congrats to the team and @NASA, LSP, @SpaceX, and everyone who helped to get to this exciting point! What will Pandora do and why is it important for exoplanet science? Read my short article on this: theconversation.com/nasas-pa…
Daniel Apai retweeted
A mission impossible (at least, unaffordable) without rideshare launch and the smallsat revolution. arstechnica.com/space/2026/0…
Daniel Apai retweeted
Local opinion: Southeastern Arizona’s growing role in a national security moment
tucson.com/opinion/column/ar… via @tucsonstar
Daniel Apai retweeted
@NASAGoddard @NASAAmes🚀 Congratulations to @DanielApai and the entire #PandoraMission team on this important milestone!😊☺️
#NASA #AstrophysicsPioneers #ExoplanetResearch #Habitability #SpaceScience #Astrobiology
#Exoplanets #Astronomy #Space
#habitableworlds
Erfolgreicher Start von Pandora: #NASA-Teleskop bereitet ein Jahr intensiver Exoplanetenforschung vor dauckchristian.home.blog/202…
#planetaryscience #Astrobiology #NASAExoplanets #Pandoramission #exoplanets
#exoplanet #astronomy #astrophysics #spacescience #space #SciComm #universe
Daniel Apai retweeted
Congratulations to @danielapai and the rest of the Pandora team for this morning’s launch and the success of this mission to date. I can't wait to see the new knowledge resulting from this mission. @Livermore_Lab @NASA @BlueCanyonTech @Corning
Successful separation! NASA’s Pandora space telescope satellite is in sun-synchronous orbit after deploying from SpaceX’s second stage.
Pandora will soon begin studying planets and their respective host stars beyond our solar system.
go.nasa.gov/4pwYHaw
ALT Image shows the Earth in the background while NASA's Pandora small satellite separates from the second stage of a SpaceX rocket in orbit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. Photo credit: SpaceX
Daniel Apai retweeted
This is why we’re excited about Pandora! Simultaneous star + planet observations = cleaner exoplanet atmospheres!
How will our upcoming Pioneer satellite Pandora help us learn about the atmospheres of worlds outside our solar system? By observing planets and stars simultaneously! It'll study stars' spotty surfaces to separate the signal of a planet from its host star: go.nasa.gov/4bhjyv2
Daniel Apai retweeted
Meet Pandora, @NASA’s first satellite in the Pioneers Program!
Launching no earlier than Jan. 11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Pandora will study the atmospheres of worlds beyond our solar system to help scientists look for chemical "fingerprints." go.nasa.gov/49q6h0z
ALT Against a starry backdrop, a metallic spacecraft observes a mottled yellow and orange star with a planet silhouetted in front of it. The planet has a bluish rim, indicating an atmosphere. Extending from the spacecraft toward the lower left is a rectangle containing panels of blue and purple that represents Pandora's solar array. This image is watermarked with “Artist’s concept” and “Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab.”
