A small NASA exoplanet probe now has a ride to Earth orbit. The agency announced on Monday afternoon (Feb. 10) that it has picked SpaceX to launch Pandora, a 716-pound (325-kilogram) satellite designed to help scientists better understand how our understanding of exoplanets' atmospheres are affected by changes in their host stars.

NASA's Pandora satellite mission to document at least 20 known planets orbiting distant stars will start from SpaceX at its Starbase launch facility in Cameron County, Texas.