{"id":17937,"date":"2019-09-23T20:05:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T12:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-science-chief-says-neo-surveillance-mission-will-seek-out-threatening-asteroids\/"},"modified":"2019-09-23T20:05:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T12:05:33","slug":"nasa-science-chief-says-neo-surveillance-mission-will-seek-out-threatening-asteroids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-science-chief-says-neo-surveillance-mission-will-seek-out-threatening-asteroids\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA science chief says NEO Surveillance Mission will seek out threatening asteroids"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The NEO Surveillance Mission\u2019s space telescope would take advantage of technologies developed for NEOCam, the proposed spacecraft shown in this artist\u2019s conception. (IPAC \/ Caltech Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The head of NASA\u2019s science operations says the space agency intends to develop a new space-based infrared telescope to hunt down near-Earth objects \u2014 not primarily for science\u2019s sake, but to ensure that potentially threatening space rocks are identified before they hit us.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s NEO Surveillance Mission will make use of technologies developed for a proposed telescope known as NEOCam, Thomas Zurbuchen, the agency\u2019s associate administrator for science, said today during a meeting of NASA\u2019s Planetary Science Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

NEOCam has long been considered as a candidate science mission under NASA\u2019s Discovery Program. But today, Zurbuchen said the NEO Surveillance Mission would be recast as a planetary defense mission with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory playing the lead development role.<\/p>\n

In a slide presentation prepared for the meeting, Zurbuchen emphasized that the mission\u2019s main goal would be to identify potential threats to Earth rather than gaining scientific insights into the nature of near-Earth objects. \u201cNASA does NOT approach planetary defense as a science-driven mission line; instead, we approach these missions more like space weather, NOAA or other operational programs,\u201d Zurbuchen wrote.<\/p>\n

The space telescope, scheduled for launch by as early as 2025, would focus on near-Earth asteroids wider than 140 meters (460 feet). The goal would be to identify 65% of such potentially hazardous asteroids, based on statistics, five years after the mission\u2019s launch. Within 10 years, the mission should raise that figure to 90%.<\/p>\n

If that level of detection could be achieved, it would finally satisfy a planetary defense mandate that was instituted by Congress back in 2005. That mandate followed up on a requirement to detect 90% potentially hazardous near-Earth objects bigger than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) \u2014 a requirement that was met in 2010.<\/p>\n