SPIRIT – NEOWISE, The American Space Agency (NASA) spacecraft has burned up in the atmosphere. NEOWISE is a spacecraft that has been in operation for 15 years and has successfully detected 3,000 near-Earth objects, including asteroids.
Confirmation of the destruction of NEOWISE was provided by NASA via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday (2 November 2024). Even though the NEOWISE mission has ended, NASA continues to search for asteroids with a network of telescopes on Earth and may soon launch a successor.
Initially, NEOWISE was launched under the name WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) in December 2009 using a Delta II rocket.
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WISE’s first mission was to study the universe at infrared, or heat, wavelengths. For more than a year, this probe has discovered the brightest galaxies in the universe, millions of hidden black holes, and the coolest stars.
When the coolant required for operation ran out in February 2011, WISE was discontinued. However, due to additional funding, the mission was continued and renamed NEOWISE, focusing on the search for near-Earth objects.
Surprisingly, this device was very effective in finding asteroids.
NEOWISE succeeded in exceeding expectations and providing a wealth of data that will be used by the scientific community for years. However, this mission had to come to an end due to the effect of the solar activity reaching its peak, or solar maximum, which caused the Earth’s atmosphere to heat up and expand.
NEOWISE, which was in low Earth orbit without a propulsion system, was eventually pulled into the atmosphere and burned up. Even though NEOWISE has now burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere, the data it produces will be used by scientists for asteroid research.
As a follow-up, NASA is preparing the NEO Surveyor, the first space telescope designed specifically to detect near-Earth objects in infrared wavelengths. The mission is scheduled to launch at the end of 2027 and will be an important part of future planetary protection.
