NASA has selected SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, to provide launch services for the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission, which will detect and observe asteroids and comets that could potentially pose an impact threat to Earth. The firm fixed price launch service task order is being awarded under the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity NASA Launch Services II … Read more
Lee esta historia en español aquí. The near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago. Now it could contribute new insights to asteroid and lunar science. The small near-Earth object 2024 PT5 captured the world’s attention last year after a NASA-funded telescope discovered it lingering close to, but never orbiting, … Read more
Trailer for NASA’s upcoming documentary, “Planetary Defenders,” which will take audiences inside the high-stakes world of asteroid hunting and planetary defense. NASA is bringing the high-stakes world of planetary defense to the Sundance Film Festival, highlighting its upcoming documentary, “Planetary Defenders,” during a panel ahead of its spring 2025 premiere on the agency’s streaming service. … Read more
1 Min Read Coming Spring 2025: Planetary Defenders Documentary David Rankin, Senior Survey Operations Specialist at Catalina Sky Survey, is seen opening the dome structure surrounding the telescope at the asteroid-hunting facility in Mt. Lemmon, AZ. Credits: NASA How would humanity respond if we discovered an asteroid headed for Earth? NASA’s Planetary Defenders is a … Read more
Designed, built and operated for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, the DART spacecraft was launched in 2021 and, roughly 10 months later, successfully impacted the asteroid Dimorphos in the fall of 2022. The deliberate collision altered the asteroid’s orbit around its larger companion asteroid, Didymos, by 33 minutes. … Read more
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. 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 … Read more
The Deep Space Network’s Goldstone planetary radar had a busy few days observing asteroids 2024 MK and 2011 UL21 as they safely passed Earth. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California recently tracked two asteroids as they flew by our planet. One turned out to have a little moon orbiting it, while the … Read more
The fifth Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise focused on an asteroid impact scenario designed by NASA JPL’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies. A large asteroid impacting Earth is highly unlikely for the foreseeable future. But because the damage from such an event could be great, NASA leads hypothetical asteroid impact “tabletop” exercises every two … Read more
NASA’s near-Earth-object-hunting mission NEOWISE is nearing its conclusion. But its work will carry on with NASA’s next-generation infrared mission: NEO Surveyor. After more than 14 successful years in space, NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission will end on July 31. But while the mission draws to a close, another is taking shape, … Read more
For the benefit of all, NASA released a summary Thursday of the fifth biennial Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, in partnership with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State Office of Space Affairs, convened the tabletop exercise to inform and assess our … Read more