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NASA's New Telescope Hunts City-Killing Asteroids
4 Apr
Summary
- NASA aims to find 90% of dangerous asteroids by 2020.
- NEO Surveyor telescope will detect asteroids using infrared light.
- Asteroids around 140 meters are the biggest concern.
NASA is intensifying its search for "city killer" asteroids with the upcoming Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) space telescope. This mission, a response to a 2005 congressional mandate, aims to discover the vast majority of potentially hazardous asteroids.
Scientists estimate over 25,000 asteroids large enough to cause significant damage are near Earth, but fewer than half have been identified. The primary concern lies with asteroids between 140 meters and 1 kilometer in size, capable of causing regional devastation.
The NEO Surveyor, set to launch in September 2027, will detect infrared light emitted by these elusive objects. This capability will allow it to spot asteroids much farther away than current telescopes, providing years or even decades of warning.
While the immediate risk of a catastrophic asteroid impact is statistically low, the NEO Surveyor is crucial for planetary defense. Its mission is to catalog at least two-thirds of near-Earth asteroids within five years, fulfilling NASA's goal of finding 90% within a decade.
