NEO Surveyor - NASA Science

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NEO Surveyor

Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope

Future Mission

small bodies of the solar system

Asteroids and Comets

GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES

NEO Observations Program

WHY NASA STUDIES ASTEROIDS

Planetary Defense

Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is the first space telescope specifically designed to hunt asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth.

Type

Space Telescope

Launch

No Earlier Than September 2027

Target

Asteroids, Comets

Objective

Hunt asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth
NEO Surveyor

NEO Surveyor Successfully Completes Critical Design Review

A NASA Standing Review Board determined that the mission meets all technical performance measures and requirements. The project will now move forward to the next phases of construction and testing.

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Overview

Building on the success of NASA's NEOWISE space telescope, the agency's NEO Surveyor will be the first spacecraft created specifically to find large numbers of asteroids and comets that are potentially hazardous to Earth.

As it scans the solar system, NEO Surveyor's sensitive infrared detectors will track the most elusive near-Earth objects. Dark asteroids and comets don't reflect much visible light, for example, but they will glow in the infrared spectrum as they’re heated by sunlight.

In addition, NEO Surveyor will be able to find asteroids that approach Earth from the direction of the Sun, as well as ones both leading and trailing our planet's orbit, where they are typically obscured by the glare of sunlight. All of these are threats that larger ground-based observatories could miss.

Use NASA's Eyes on Asteroids interactive (below) for a real-time visualization of every known asteroid or comet classified as a Near-Earth Object, or NEO.

Why We're Launching NEO Surveyor

In a cavernous, bright white, sparkling clean room, workers wearing white coats, hair nets, blue pants, and white booties over their shoes stand and watch a large, white, metal-looking box suspended beneath an enormous crane, which runs on yellow tracks spanning the room, with orange straps supporting the weight of the box.
On June 7, 2024, clean room technicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California use a crane to lift the lid of the Medium Articulating Transportation System (MATS) that will be used during the construction and transportation of components for NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Finding near-Earth objects is required by law.
  • We can only do something about hazardous near-Earth objects if we can find them first.
  • NEO Surveyor will find asteroids and comets that other space missions cannot, filling a critical gap in humanity’s ability to detect potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.
  • In addition to planetary defense, scientists will use data from NEO Surveyor for studies of near-Earth objects to learn more about the evolution of the solar system.

Learn More About Asteroids

Closeup view of a rocky, diamond-shaped asteroid in space

Next Five Asteroid Approaches

The Asteroid Watch dashboard tracks asteroids and comets that will make relatively close approaches to Earth.

Closeup view of a rocky, diamond-shaped asteroid in space

Asteroid Watch

The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) tracks the orbits of all known near-Earth objects, and predicts their close approaches with Earth.

A diamond shaped rocky object is shown side-by-side with another rocky object that has a bright point of light at its bottom right side.

Asteroid & Comet Resources

A curated collection of resources, including activities that can be done at home, as well as videos and animations, images, handouts, and online interactives.

One of the telescopes used in the Catalina Sky Survey. The sun sets behind the telescope dome, which is open.

Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program

The program is a key element of NASA’s Planetary Defense Program, funding efforts to search for undiscovered NEOs using observatories around the world.

Hubble floats above a blue Earth streaked with clouds.

Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble contributes regularly to our understanding of asteroids.

Planetary Defense at NASA

In 2016, NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to manage the agency's ongoing mission of finding, tracking, and better understanding asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth.

Learn More about Planetary Defense at NASA
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