Mission Facts
Objective: Hunt potentially hazardous asteroids and comets near Earth
Launch: No earlier than September 2027
Type: Space Telescope
Our Contributions
SDL provided the following mission support:
- Instrument performance engineering
- Camera enclosure assembly, electronics, and firmware
- Instrument-level integration and test
- Focal plane modules
Hunting for Hazards with NEO Surveyor
NASA’s NEO Surveyor spacecraft is a space telescope designed to scan and track potentially hazardous comets and asteroids orbiting near Earth. Building upon its predecessor mission WISE, which mapped the universe in infrared and then was repurposed as NEOWISE to detect asteroids and comets, NEO Surveyor will advance planetary defense efforts by identifying threats that are difficult to see with existing systems.
Asteroids and comets emit very little visible light and may hide in the glare of the Sun as they approach, lead, or trail Earth’s orbit. NEO Surveyor’s sensitive infrared sensors are designed to detect and track these dark or obscured celestial bodies as they are heated by the Sun.