NASA's next-gen telescope will hunt for hardest-to-find asteroids and comets; currently under construction

NASA's NEO Surveyor, the first space mission designed to detect a large quantity of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that stray into Earth's orbital neighbourhood, has entered the construction phase after passing a rigorous technical and programmatic review.

"As the mission enters this new phase, we're excited to be working on this unique space telescope and are already looking forward to our launch and the start of our important mission," said Tom Hoffman, NEO Surveyor project manager at JPL.

NEO Surveyor will embark on a million-mile journey to the L1 Lagrange point, a region of gravitational stability located between Earth and the Sun, where it will remain in orbit for the duration of its five-year primary mission. From this location, the telescope will detect near-Earth objects (NEOs) that ground-based observatories may miss due to Earth's atmosphere blocking infrared wavelengths, which are invisible to the human eye.

According to NASA, NEO Surveyor will be able to track the most difficult-to-locate near-Earth objects, such as dark asteroids and comets that don't reflect much visible light, thanks to its cutting-edge detectors that are designed to observe two heat-sensitive infrared bands. The next-gen space observatory will also be able to detect asteroids that come close to Earth from the direction of the Sun, as well as those that are ahead of and behind our planet's orbit, which are usually hidden by the bright light of the Sun - known as Earth Trojans.

"NEO Surveyor represents the next generation for NASA's ability to quickly detect, track, and characterize potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.Ground-based telescopes remain essential for us to continually watch the skies, but a space-based infrared observatory is the ultimate high ground that will enable NASA's planetary defense strategy," said Lindley Johnson, NASA's Planetary Defense Officer at PDCO.

The project is being developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is led by survey director Amy Mainzer at the University of Arizona.