NASA NEOWISE mission ends after years of successful asteroid discoveries

Engineers on NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission commanded the spacecraft to turn its transmitter off for the last time Thursday, reports Kazinform News Agency correspondent, citing NASA News. This concludes more than 10 years of its planetary defense mission to search for asteroids and comets, including those that could pose a threat to Earth.

The final command was sent from the Earth Orbiting Missions Operation Center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, with mission members past and present in attendance alongside officials from the agency’s headquarters in Washington. NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System then relayed the signal to NEOWISE, decommissioning the spacecraft. As NASA previously shared, the spacecraft’s science survey ended on July 31, and all remaining science data was downlinked from the spacecraft.

“The NEOWISE mission has been an extraordinary success story as it helped us better understand our place in the universe by tracking asteroids and comets that could be hazardous for us on Earth,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “While we are sad to see this brave mission come to an end, we are excited for the future scientific discoveries it has opened by setting the foundation for the next generation planetary defense telescope.”

NASA ended the mission as NEOWISE’s orbit is dropping too low to collect useful data. Increased solar activity is expanding the upper atmosphere, creating drag on the spacecraft, which lacks propulsion. Decommissioned, NEOWISE is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere by late 2024.

During its lifetime, the infrared survey telescope surpassed scientific goals for two missions, starting with WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), launched in December 2009. WISE completed its mission to scan the entire infrared sky by July 2010 with exceptional sensitivity. After it ran out of coolant, NASA extended the mission as NEOWISE until February 2011 to survey main belt asteroids before placing it in hibernation.

Though no longer able to observe faint infrared objects, it still provided precise data on asteroids and comets heated by the Sun. Reawakened in 2013 under NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations Program, NEOWISE continued its asteroid and comet surveys for planetary defense.

“The NEOWISE mission has been instrumental in our quest to map the skies and understand the near-Earth environment. Its huge number of discoveries have expanded our knowledge of asteroids and comets, while also boosting our nation’s planetary defense,” said Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL. “As we bid farewell to NEOWISE, we also celebrate the team behind it for their impressive achievements.”

By repeatedly observing the sky from low Earth orbit, NEOWISE created all-sky maps featuring 1.45 million infrared measurements of more than 44,000 solar system objects. Of the 3,000-plus near-Earth objects it detected, 215 were first spotted by NEOWISE. The mission also discovered 25 new comets, including the famed comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE that streaked across the night sky in the summer of 2020, the article shares.

In addition to leaving behind a trove of science data, the spacecraft has helped inform the development of NASA’s first infrared space telescope purpose-built for detecting near-Earth objects: NEO Surveyor.

“The NEOWISE mission has provided a unique, long-duration data set of the infrared sky that will be used by scientists for decades to come,” said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for both NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “But its additional legacy is that it has helped lay the groundwork for NASA’s next planetary defense infrared space telescope.”

Managed by JPL, NEO Surveyor will target hard-to-detect near-Earth objects, like dark asteroids and comets that reflect little light, and those approaching from the Sun’s direction. This next-generation infrared telescope will significantly boost planetary defense efforts, complementing NASA-funded ground surveys. Its launch is planned for no earlier than 2027, with construction already underway, the article concludes.