6 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Artist\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1-neowise-illustration-1600.jpg?w=1600\")
<\/figure>\nThis artist\u2019s concept depicts the NEOWISE spacecraft in orbit around Earth. Launched in 2009 to survey the entire sky in infrared, the spacecraft took on a more specialized role in 2014 when it was reactivated to study near-Earth asteroids and comets.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAs the infrared space telescope continues its long-duration survey of the universe, it is creating a unique resource for future astronomers to make new discoveries.<\/em><\/p>\nNASA\u2019s NEOWISE<\/a> mission has released its 10th year of infrared data<\/a> \u2013 the latest in a unique long-duration (or \u201ctime-domain\u201d) survey that captures how celestial objects change over long periods<\/a>. Time-domain astronomy can help scientists see how distant variable stars change in brightness and observe faraway black holes flaring as they consume matter. But NEOWISE has a special focus on our planet\u2019s local cosmic neighborhood, producing a time-domain infrared survey used for planetary science, with a particular emphasis on asteroids and comets.<\/p>\nShort for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, NEOWISE is a key component of NASA\u2019s planetary defense<\/a> strategy, helping the agency refine the orbits of asteroids and comets while also estimating their size. One such example is the potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis<\/a>, which will make a close approach of our planet in 2029.<\/p>\nBy repeatedly observing the sky from its location in low-Earth orbit, NEOWISE has made 1.45 million infrared measurements of over 44,000 solar system objects. That includes more than 3,000 NEOs, 215 of which the space telescope discovered. Twenty-five of those are comets, including the famous comet NEOWISE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe space telescope has been a workhorse for characterizing NEOs that may pose a hazard to Earth in the future,\u201d said Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE\u2019s principal investigator at the University of Arizona and University of California, Los Angeles. \u201cThe data that NEOWISE has generated for free use by the scientific community will pay dividends for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Data to Discovery<\/strong><\/h3>\nManaged by NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mission sends data three times a day to the U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS<\/a>) network, which then delivers it to IPAC<\/a>, an astronomical data research center at Caltech in Pasadena, California. IPAC processes the raw data into fully calibrated images that are accessible online. It also generates NEO detections, sending them to the Minor Planet Center \u2013 the internationally recognized clearinghouse for the position measurements of solar system bodies. By searching multiple images of the same patch of sky at different times, scientists capture the motion<\/a>s of individual asteroids and comets.<\/p>\n\n
<\/figure>As the infrared space telescope continues its long-duration survey of the universe, it is creating a unique resource for future astronomers to make new discoveries.<\/em><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s NEOWISE<\/a> mission has released its 10th year of infrared data<\/a> \u2013 the latest in a unique long-duration (or \u201ctime-domain\u201d) survey that captures how celestial objects change over long periods<\/a>. Time-domain astronomy can help scientists see how distant variable stars change in brightness and observe faraway black holes flaring as they consume matter. But NEOWISE has a special focus on our planet\u2019s local cosmic neighborhood, producing a time-domain infrared survey used for planetary science, with a particular emphasis on asteroids and comets.<\/p>\n Short for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, NEOWISE is a key component of NASA\u2019s planetary defense<\/a> strategy, helping the agency refine the orbits of asteroids and comets while also estimating their size. One such example is the potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis<\/a>, which will make a close approach of our planet in 2029.<\/p>\n By repeatedly observing the sky from its location in low-Earth orbit, NEOWISE has made 1.45 million infrared measurements of over 44,000 solar system objects. That includes more than 3,000 NEOs, 215 of which the space telescope discovered. Twenty-five of those are comets, including the famous comet NEOWISE<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe space telescope has been a workhorse for characterizing NEOs that may pose a hazard to Earth in the future,\u201d said Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE\u2019s principal investigator at the University of Arizona and University of California, Los Angeles. \u201cThe data that NEOWISE has generated for free use by the scientific community will pay dividends for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Managed by NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mission sends data three times a day to the U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS<\/a>) network, which then delivers it to IPAC<\/a>, an astronomical data research center at Caltech in Pasadena, California. IPAC processes the raw data into fully calibrated images that are accessible online. It also generates NEO detections, sending them to the Minor Planet Center \u2013 the internationally recognized clearinghouse for the position measurements of solar system bodies. By searching multiple images of the same patch of sky at different times, scientists capture the motion<\/a>s of individual asteroids and comets.<\/p>\nFrom Data to Discovery<\/strong><\/h3>\n