Contact – Editorial Team:
NASA is set to begin design-construction work for a space telescope to search for hard-to-find near-Earth comets and asteroids.
The telescope has passed a technical program review and will now move into the construction phase.
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dangerous objects on Earth
“The mission supports the goals of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA Headquarters in Washington,” JPL said Friday in a press release.
The Planetary Defense Coordination Office was established in 2016 to document dangerous objects on Earth.
“New Surveyor represents the next generation of NASA’s ability to quickly detect, track and characterize near-Earth objects,” said Lindley Johnson, NASA planetary defense official, according to UBI.
The NASA Licensing Act of 2005 directed NASA to document 90 percent of NEOs greater than 460 feet across that are within 30 million miles of Earth. Objects of this size could pose a significant threat if they hit the ground.
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Understand the composition of comets and asteroids
The Near-Earth Object Survey will fly one million miles into orbit at a gravitationally stable region between the Sun and Earth known as the Lagrange Point. It is scheduled to monitor near-Earth objects under infrared light. The information will also be used to better understand the composition of comets and asteroids.
The NEO components, including the radiators that will provide passive cooling for the vehicle, are already under construction.