BAE Systems has announced the successful conclusion of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission, which officially ended on August 8, 2024, after more than 14 years in orbit, according to a press release.
The spacecraft, which was decommissioned following a command from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is expected to gradually descend towards Earth, where it will eventually burn up safely in the atmosphere later this year.
The NEOWISE spacecraft, originally launched in 2009 as part of NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, played a pretty big role in mapping the sky with its infrared imager.
After completing its initial survey in 2011, the satellite was placed into hibernation before being reactivated in 2013 for the NEOWISE mission. Over the years, NEOWISE has provided critical data to the scientific community, helping track and study near-Earth objects (NEOs).
The mission accomplished several key objectives, including completing two all-sky surveys and covering the sky over 23 times. NEOWISE identified tens of millions of supermassive black holes, catalogued thousands of near-Earth asteroids and comets, and advanced planetary defence capabilities.
The spacecraft, built by BAE Systems and operated by NASA’s JPL, utilised an advanced imager developed by the Space Dynamics Laboratory.
Reflecting on the mission’s success, Dr. Alberto Conti, vice president and general manager of Civil Space for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems, stated, “The WISE and NEOWISE missions exceeded all expectations and returned invaluable insights about our solar system. The success of NEOWISE has also been integral to the development of NASA’s NEO Surveyor telescope, which will carry on the critical mission of defending our planet from dangerous objects in our solar system. Our team is excited to again be playing a key role in the upcoming mission.”
As the NEOWISE mission concludes, the focus now shifts to NASA’s upcoming Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission, which is set to launch in the autumn of 2027. The NEO Surveyor will be the first planetary defence satellite specifically designed to discover and characterise asteroids and comets larger than 140 meters, which could pose a threat to Earth.
BAE Systems will continue its involvement in this next phase by supplying the spacecraft for the NEO Surveyor mission, along with the sunshade system, deployable aperture cover, and various cryogenic thermomechanical components.
Additionally, BAE Systems will lead the assembly, integration, and testing of the observatory and provide launch integration support.
