NEO Surveyor
Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope
small bodies THAT pack big surprises
GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES
WHY NASA STUDIES ASTEROIDS
Overview
Building on the success of NASA's NEOWISE space telescope – on the lookout for near-Earth objects since 2013 – the agency's NEO Surveyor will be the first spacecraft created specifically to find large numbers of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets.
As it scans the solar system, NEO Surveyor's sensitive infrared detectors will let it track the most elusive near-Earth objects. Dark asteroids and comets don't reflect much visible light, for example, but they will glow in the infrared spectrum as they’re heated by sunlight.
In addition, NEO Surveyor will be able to find asteroids that approach Earth from the direction of the Sun, as well as ones both leading and trailing our planet's orbit, where they are typically obscured by the glare of sunlight. All of these are threats that larger ground-based observatories could miss.
Why We're Launching NEO Surveyor
- Finding near-Earth objects is required by law.
- We can only do something about hazardous near-Earth objects if we can find them first.
- NEO Surveyor will find asteroids and comets that other space missions cannot, filling a critical gap in humanity’s ability to detect potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.
- In addition to planetary defense, scientists will use data from NEO Surveyor for studies of near-Earth objects to learn more about the evolution of the solar system.
You're looking at a real-time visualization of every known asteroid or comet classified as a Near-Earth Object, or NEO.
Planetary Defense at NASA
In 2016, NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to manage the agency's ongoing mission of finding, tracking, and better understanding asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth. Here you can stay informed about the PDCO, NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program, and upcoming planetary defense flight missions, including NASA'S NEO Surveyor mission.
Learn MoreWISE/NEOWISE
This workhorse space telescope – standing guard as Earth's watchdog before NEO Surveyor – started life by looking far beyond our solar system. Launched in December 2009 as WISE (the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), it scanned the distant universe until February 2011 – identifying the most luminous galaxies in the cosmos, finding millions of hidden black holes, and discovering the coolest class of stars. In late 2013, WISE was taken out of hibernation, repurposed to hunt for comets and asteroids that could threaten our planet, and renamed NEOWISE for the near-Earth objects it targeted. In that role it has measured and monitored nearly 45,000 different solar-system objects, and now prepares to pass the torch to NEO Surveyor.
Learn More about WISE/NEOWISE