The final shutdown command was issued from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, with mission team members and NASA officials present. The command was relayed through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, completing the decommissioning of the spacecraft. NEOWISE had already concluded its scientific operations on July 31, with all remaining data successfully transmitted to Earth.
"The NEOWISE mission has been an extraordinary success story as it helped us better understand our place in the universe by tracking asteroids and comets that could be hazardous for us on Earth," said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. "While we are sad to see this brave mission come to an end, we are excited for the future scientific discoveries it has opened by setting the foundation for the next generation planetary defense telescope."
The decision to end the mission was made because NEOWISE's orbit will soon decay to the point where it can no longer provide valuable data. Increased solar activity is heating Earth's upper atmosphere, causing it to expand and create drag on the spacecraft, which lacks the propulsion system to maintain its orbit. Now decommissioned, NEOWISE is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and safely burn up later in 2024.
During its operational lifespan, NEOWISE achieved remarkable scientific milestones through its dual missions. It began as the WISE mission (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), which launched in December 2009 with the goal of surveying the entire infrared sky within seven months. By mid-2010, WISE had exceeded expectations by completing this survey with unprecedented sensitivity. However, when the telescope's coolant supply was exhausted, its ability to detect the faintest infrared objects diminished, leading to the spacecraft being placed in hibernation in 2011.
NASA later revived the mission under the NEOWISE banner in 2013, focusing on the detection of near-Earth objects (NEOs) under the Near-Earth Object Observations Program. This initiative laid the groundwork for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office and extended NEOWISE's contributions to planetary defense.
"The NEOWISE mission has been instrumental in our quest to map the skies and understand the near-Earth environment. Its huge number of discoveries have expanded our knowledge of asteroids and comets, while also boosting our nation's planetary defense," said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA JPL. "As we bid farewell to NEOWISE, we also celebrate the team behind it for their impressive achievements."
NEOWISE's all-sky surveys resulted in 1.45 million infrared observations of over 44,000 objects within our solar system. Among the more than 3,000 near-Earth objects it cataloged, 215 were first discovered by NEOWISE. The mission also found 25 new comets, including the well-known comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, which became a striking feature in the night sky during the summer of 2020.
Beyond its extensive data collection, NEOWISE has paved the way for NASA's upcoming NEO Surveyor mission. This new infrared space telescope, managed by JPL, will specialize in detecting difficult-to-find near-Earth objects, such as dark asteroids and comets, as well as those approaching from the Sun's direction. With construction already in progress, NEO Surveyor is expected to launch no earlier than 2027, significantly enhancing global planetary defense efforts.
"The NEOWISE mission has provided a unique, long-duration data set of the infrared sky that will be used by scientists for decades to come," said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for both NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor at the University of California, Los Angeles. "But its additional legacy is that it has helped lay the groundwork for NASA's next planetary defense infrared space telescope."
Related Links
NEOWISE
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology
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