NASA’s Asteroid, Comet Hunting Telescope Set to Retire at End of Month

NEOWISE has taken millions of infrared measurements and studied tens of thousands of asteroids, comets, stars, galaxies, and other objects.

Monday, July 08, 2024 at 03:15 PM ET

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Using infrared instruments, NEOWISE, formerly known simply as WISE, is used to create 360-degree images of the visible universe. [Courtesy: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's NEOWISE space telescope, which has spent over a decade identifying potentially hazardous asteroids and comets as a key part of planetary defense, is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere by early 2025 due to orbital decay.
Originally launched as WISE, the mission was reactivated as NEOWISE in 2013, collecting 1.45 million infrared measurements of 44,000 solar system objects, including 3,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs).
A direct successor, the NEO Surveyor, is slated for a 2027 launch. This $1.2 billion infrared space telescope is purpose-built to specifically hunt and characterize a large number of NEOs, including difficult-to-find dark objects, significantly enhancing NASA's planetary defense capabilities.

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A NASA space telescope designed to “hunt” asteroids and comets that could pose a threat to life on Earth and orbiting spacecraft will soon burn up in orbit.

In late 2024 or early 2025, the agency’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer—or NEOWISE—is expected to come home in pieces following the conclusion of its second mission later this month. The spacecraft, which spent more than a decade collecting data on objects whizzing past the Earth and exploring ways to defend the planet and its satellites from falling rocks and ice, is now at the mercy of the sun. Soon, it will become unusable.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.