Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer)

Asteroids

Bennu

Goddard Space Flight Center

Johnson Space Center

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Planetary Science Division

Science Mission Directorate

NASA to Brief Media on Asteroid Sample Mission Findings

NASA will brief media at 11 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 29, to provide an update on science results from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission, which delivered a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in September 2023.

Posted January 24, 2025

NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)

Comets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

Work Is Under Way on NASA’s Next-Generation Asteroid Hunter

The mirrors for NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope are being installed and aligned, and work on other spacecraft components is accelerating. NASA’s new asteroid-hunting spacecraft is taking shape at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Posted August 28, 2024

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Asteroids

Deep Space Network

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)

Space Communications & Navigation Program

NASA’s Planetary Radar Tracks Two Large Asteroid Close Approaches

The Deep Space Network’s Goldstone planetary radar had a busy few days observing asteroids 2024 MK and 2011 UL21 as they safely passed Earth. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California recently tracked two asteroids as they flew by our planet. One turned out to have a little moon orbiting it, while the […]

Posted July 3, 2024

NEOWISE

Comets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)

NASA’s NEOWISE Infrared Heritage Will Live On

NASA’s near-Earth-object-hunting mission NEOWISE is nearing its conclusion. But its work will carry on with NASA’s next-generation infrared mission: NEO Surveyor. After more than 14 successful years in space, NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission will end on July 31.

Posted July 2, 2024

NEOWISE

Comets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

NASA’s NEOWISE Extends Legacy With Decade of Near-Earth Object Data

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.

Posted April 4, 2024

DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)

Asteroids

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Modeling

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact

After NASA’s historic Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a JPL-led study has shown that the shape of asteroid Dimorphos has changed and its orbit has shrunk. When NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) deliberately smashed into a 560-foot-wide (170-meter-wide) asteroid on Sept. 26, 2022, it made its mark in more ways than one.

Posted March 19, 2024

Asteroids

Deep Space Network

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)

Space Communications & Navigation Program

NASA’s Planetary Radar Images Slowly Spinning Asteroid

During the close approach of 2008 OS7 with Earth on Feb. 2, the agency’s Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid. On Feb. 2, a large asteroid safely drifted past Earth at a distance of about 1.8 million miles (2.9 million kilometers, or 7 ½ times the distance […]

Posted February 26, 2024

Asteroids

Meteors & Meteorites

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

NASA System Predicts Impact of a Very Small Asteroid Over Germany

The Scout impact assessment system calculated where and when the asteroid 2024 BX1 would impact Earth’s atmosphere, providing a useful demonstration of planetary defense capability. A small asteroid about 3 feet (1 meter) in size disintegrated harmlessly over Germany on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 1:32 a.m. local time (CET).

Posted January 24, 2024

NEOWISE

Comets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)

NASA’s NEOWISE Celebrates 10 Years, Plans End of Mission

The asteroid and comet-hunting infrared space telescope has gathered an impressive haul of observations, but it’s now at the mercy of the Sun, which is accelerating its demise. NASA’s NEOWISE has had a busy decade. Since its reactivated mission began on Dec.

Posted December 13, 2023

Lucy

Asteroids

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)

NEOWISE

Planetary Defense

Trojan Asteroids

WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)

Data From NASA’s WISE Used to Preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh

Researchers have utilized infrared survey data to refine the asteroid’s size and surface brightness in support of the Nov. 1 encounter by NASA’s Lucy mission. NASA’s Lucy mission will soon have its first asteroid encounter as the spacecraft travels through deep space en route to Jupiter’s orbit. But before the spacecraft passes 265 miles (425 […]

Posted October 30, 2023