After 10 Years Of Operation, NASA Stops NEOWISE Mission

The last image of the NEOWISE camera (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE)'s exploration mission officially ended on Thursday, August 8. NASA's technicians have turned off the emitting equipment from the spacecraft. Over the past ten years, NEOWISE has been observing space to search for asteroids and comets, including those dangerous for Earth. This spacecraft conducted the last survey on July 31. After that, all science data was lowered from the plane. Nicola Fox, Administrator of the Association of Science Mission Directorates at NASA Headquarters, said that the NEOWISE mission has helped scientists to understand the universe. The data NEOWISE collected will be used for future scientific discoveries. "NOWISE's mission is an extraordinary success story," Fox said. "While we are saddened to see this mission end, we are happy with future scientific discoveries that have been opened by laying the groundwork for next-generation planetary defense telescopes. NASA must stop the NEOWISE mission as its aircraft position is getting further and lower. With its too low position, NEOWISE cannot provide science data as before.

In addition, this aircraft is experiencing obstacles due to increased solar activity which makes the upper atmosphere hotter. NEOWISE does not have a propulsion system so this aircraft cannot maintain its position in orbit. Based on NASA estimates, this aircraft will carry out a de-orbit process by the end of this year. NEOWISE will burn out when entering the atmosphere. To replace NEOWISE's task, NASA will launch a NEO Surveyor in early 2027.