Example Resources

NASA does not endorse any non-U.S. Government entity and is not responsible for information contained on non-U.S. Government websites. For non-U.S. Government websites, participants must comply with any data use parameters of that specific website.

NASA Resources

NASA Exoplanet Archive: The NASA Exoplanet Archive contains data about the currently known exoplanets. This archive can be used to obtain the coordinates and the physical parameters of the exoplanetary systems known so far.

3D Solar System Visualizer: The source code to a 3D Solar System Visualizer could be adapted for this application. A javascript version is available for download at the NASA PSG GitHub server (link above), which is based on the JPL orbital visualizer.

Probing the Capability of Future Direct-imaging Missions to Spectrally Constrain the Frequency of Earth-like Planets: The ability of HWO to detect and characterize exoplanets depends on the stellar-radius (R* [Rsun]), the planetary radius (RP [REarth]), the planet-star distance (PS [AU]), the distance to the planetary system (ES [pc]), and the diameter of the telescope (D [m]), among other parameters. An exoplanet would be characterizable if the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is greater than 5, and the planet and star can be separated accurately. Allowing users to filter exoplanetary systems based on different telescope diameters would be an expert add-on app capability.

Example 1: If we assume that an exoplanet similar to Earth that is located at 10 parsec and is observed with a 6 m diameter HWO telescope has an SNR0 of 100, the SNR (background dominated) will vary roughly depending as SNR = SNR0 [(R* RP (D/6)) / ((ES/10) PS)]2. Which exoplanets have a SNR>5?
Example 2: The capability to separate the exoplanet from its host star is dependent on the planet-star distance and telescope diameter. Earth could be separated from the Sun at 10 pc using a 6 m telescope in the UV, but probably not at 15 pc (ESmax). The limiting distance is defined by ESmax = 15 (D/6) / PS. Which systems are characterizable with HWO depending on different telescope diameters [5-15 m]?

Space Agency Partner Resources

European Space Agency (ESA)

Hack an Exoplanet: Hack an Exoplanet is an educational activity developed by ESA Education in collaboration with the ESA Science directorate, with support from members of the Cheops Mission Consortium and the ESERO network. ESA’s Cheops observed two exoplanet targets in early 2023, KELT-3b and TOI-560c, and the stellar system K2-141 in September 2023. The data collected by the satellite is available immediately for educational purposes through the hack an exoplanet activity.  By joining this activity, you can follow every step of this real-time satellite observation programme, track the Cheops satellite and access the data.

Human and Robotic Exploration Data Archive: The HREDA archive collects the results of ESA funded or co-funded experiments covering a wide range of scientific areas, which were performed during mission and campaigns on/in various space platforms and microgravity ground-based facilities.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

Exoplanet Zoo: This page explores a series of famous exoplanets and discusses their potential habitability.

Canadian Astronomy Data Centre: The Canadian Astronomy Data Center (CADC) houses the Government of Canada's astronomy open data.

James Webb Space Telescope Tutorial: This code demonstrates how to download and utilize data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

NIRISS Exoplanet Data: This website shares an example of how data is used to detect potentially habitable exoplanets. The Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument is a Canadian contribution to the James Webb Space Telescope mission. In 2022, it captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence of clouds and haze in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-96 b. These are some of the features required for planet habitability.

BRITE Constellation Mission Tutorial: This tutorial has been created to help users make use of the open light curve data from the BRITE Constellation Mission. This code can be helpful in detecting exoplanets.

2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge

Navigator for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO): Mapping the Characterizable Exoplanets in our Galaxy