The new asteroid-hunting spacecraft being developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is called the NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor). This futuristic infrared space telescope is designed to detect the most elusive asteroids and comets that could threaten our planet.
The NEO Surveyor is set to launch into space somewhere in the year 2027. The Spacecraft will be positioned at the L1 Lagrange point between the Earth and the sun. It will use a massive sunshade to block the sun’s heat. The NEO Surveyor’s goal is to find objects near Earth, like Earth trojans. Earth trojans are asteroids that orbit the sun close to Earth.
How Does it Work?
The NEO Surveyor uses special detectors to look at two types of infrared light, which people can’t see. Objects near Earth shine brightly in infrared when the Sun warms them up. This helps the telescope find dark asteroids and comets that don’t reflect much regular light. It can also measure these objects, which is hard for regular telescopes, as they have trouble telling the difference between small, shiny objects and big, dark ones.
Related Stories:
- https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/sandorkruk/hubble-asteroid-hunter
- https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2022/05/aa42998-21/aa42998-21.html
- https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2024/03/aa46771-23/aa46771-23.html
- https://abcnews.go.com/US/asteroid-hunter-digs-deep-massive-space-object-set/story?id=108270524
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