Overview
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
Launched in December 2009, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer captured more than 2.7 million images and cataloged more than 747 million space objects while mapping the entire celestial sky in infrared light.
WISE discovered the first Y Dwarf and Earth Trojan asteroid, tens of thousands of new asteroids, and numerous previously undiscovered star clusters. After completing its primary mission in 2011, most of WISE’s electronics were turned off by NASA to preserve the spacecraft.
The mission was reactivated in 2013 to hunt for near-Earth objects (NEOs) and the mission was renamed NEOWISE. In its first year of reactivation, NEOWISE captured 2.5 million image sets, detecting and providing data on over 10,000 solar system objects. The data revealed 129 new solar system objects, including 29 previously undiscovered near-Earth objects.
On Aug. 8, 2024, the satellite was decommissioned after a command was sent from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, turning off its transmitter and putting it into hibernation.
What We Did
For the WISE/NEOWISE mission, we designed, built and tested the spacecraft, which is based on our configurable line of spacecraft. We also conducted flight system testing and support operations for both WISE and NEOWISE.
Click this link to learn more about the NEOWISE/WISE mission on the CalTech website.
Click this link to learn more about the NEOWISE/WISE mission on NASA JPL's website.
Click this link to learn more about the NEOWISE/WISE mission on NASA's website.