NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch an advanced asteroid hunter telescope that will detect and observe asteroids and comets that could potentially pose an impact threat to Earth. 

Under the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch from Florida around September 2027, carrying an almost 20-inch diameter telescope that will operate in two heat-sensing infrared wavelengths.   

According to NASA, the single scientific instrument “will be capable of detecting both bright and dark asteroids, the latter being the most difficult type to find with existing assets”. 

“The space telescope is designed to help advance NASA’s planetary defense efforts to discover and characterize most of the potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. These are collectively known as near-Earth objects, or NEOs,” NASA said.  

By using two heat-sensitive infrared imaging channels, the telescope can also make more accurate measurements of the sizes of NEOs and gain information about their composition, shapes, rotational states, and orbits. 

The contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs, is valued at approximately $100 million  

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