NASA Partners With SpaceX To Launch NEO Surveyor, a Mission To Detect Asteroid Threats

A contract has been awarded by NASA to SpaceX for the launch of its Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor spacecraft, which is meant to establish asteroids and comets that would pose a menace to Earth. The mission is ready to launch no sooner than September 2027 from Florida’s Space Coast utilizing a Falcon 9 rocket. The contract for the launch and associated providers has been valued at roughly $100 million. The spacecraft is predicted to reinforce planetary protection efforts by detecting and characterizing near-Earth objects that would probably trigger important harm upon impression. The mission will probably be operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, with help from varied scientific establishments.

Mission Objectives and Capabilities

As per experiences, in accordance with NASA, the NEO Surveyor will probably be positioned on the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1, roughly 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. From this vantage level, the spacecraft will use its 50-centimetre infrared telescope to scan house in two infrared wavelengths. This will enable the detection of each vibrant and darkish asteroids, together with these which might be troublesome to watch with present Earth-based telescopes. The purpose of the mission is to find no less than two-thirds of undiscovered NEOs measuring 140 meters or extra in diameter, that are massive sufficient to trigger regional devastation in the event that they collide with Earth.

Planetary Defense Efforts and Previous Missions

The NEO Surveyor mission follows earlier planetary protection initiatives involving SpaceX. In 2021, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, efficiently impacting the asteroid Dimorphos to check the feasibility of altering an asteroid’s trajectory. In 2024, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission was additionally launched utilizing a Falcon 9 to check the aftermath of the DART impression on the Didymos system. These missions are a part of ongoing efforts to develop applied sciences able to mitigating potential asteroid threats sooner or later.