NASA Reactivates Spacecraft to Hunt for Asteroids Near Earth

NASA is getting a bit more use out of a "retired" spacecraft. The instrument that discovered and characterized tens of thousands of asteroids will be return to service for three more years starting this September. The spacecraft should be able to help researchers identify potentially hazardous near-Earth objects in addition to asteroids that could be suitable for exploration missions.

The spacecraft is called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). It was first launched in December 2009 with the mission to look for the glow of celestial heat sources from asteroids, stars and galaxies. Each day, WISE made about 7,500 images during its primary mission. In addition, WISE made the most accurate survey to date of NEOs.

Now, NASA is planning to expand this spacecraft's mission. It will use its 16-inch telescope and infrared cameras in order to discover an anticipated 150 previously unknown NEOs and characterize the size, albedo and thermal properties of about 2,000 others, including those that could be candidates for NASA's asteroid initiative.

The asteroid initiative will be the first of its kind to identify, capture and relocate an asteroid. This will allow researchers to get a better look at the asteroid. In addition, astronauts could perform spacewalks and collect samples directly from the asteroid.

"The WISE mission achieved its mission's goals and as NEOWISE extended the science even further in its survey of asteroids. NASA is now extending that record of success, which will enhance our ability to find potentially hazardous asteroids, and support the new asteroid initiative," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science, in a news release. "Reactivating WISE is an excellent example of how we are leveraging existing capabilities across the agency to achieve our goal."

Because asteroids reflect but do not emit visible light, infrared sensors are a powerful tool for discovering, cataloguing and understanding asteroids. This means that WISE's instruments are perfect for this new mission.

"The team is ready and after a quick checkout, we're going to hit the ground running," said Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE principal investigator, in a news release. "NEOWISE not only gives us a better understanding of the asteroids and comets we study directly, but it will help us refine our concepts and mission operation plans for the future, space-based near-Earth object cataloging missions."