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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected SpaceX of Starbase, Texas, to provide launch services for the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission, which will detect and observe asteroids and comets that could potentially pose an impact threat to Earth.
The firm fixed price launch service task order is being awarded under the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity NASA Launch Services II contract. The total cost to NASA for the launch service is approximately $100 million, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs. The NEO Surveyor mission is targeted to launch no earlier than September 2027 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida.
The NEO Surveyor mission consists of a single scientific instrument: an almost 20-inch (50-centimeter) diameter telescope that will operate in two heat-sensing infrared wavelengths. It 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.
The mission will carry out a five-year baseline survey to find at least two-thirds of the unknown NEOs larger than 140 meters (460 feet). These are the objects large enough to cause major regional damage in the event of an Earth impact. 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 mission is tasked by NASA’s Planetary Science Division within the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Program oversight is provided by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which was established in 2016 to manage the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense. NASA’s Planetary Missions Program Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, provides program management for NEO Surveyor. The project is being developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Multiple aerospace and engineering companies are contracted to build the spacecraft and its instrumentation, including BAE Systems SMS (Space & Mission Systems), Space Dynamics Laboratory, and Teledyne. The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, will support operations, and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, is responsible for processing survey data and producing the mission’s data products. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. Mission team leadership includes the University of California, Los Angeles. NASA’s Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for managing the launch service.
For more information about NEO Surveyor, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neo-surveyor/
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Tiernan Doyle / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 202-358-1100
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Patti Bielling
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Kennedy Space Center Launch Services Office Launch Services Program NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope) Planetary Defense Coordination Office Planetary Science Division Science Mission Directorate Space Operations Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
Caption: The Intuitive Machines lunar lander that will deliver NASA science and technology to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign is encapsulated in the fairing of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: SpaceX Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, the Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission is targeted to launch no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26. The mission will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Live launch coverage will air on NASA+ with prelaunch events starting Tuesday, Feb. 25. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. Follow all events at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
After the launch, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, Athena, will spend approximately one week in transit to the Moon before landing on the lunar surface no earlier than Thursday, March 6. The lander will carry NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations to further our understanding of the Moon’s environment and help prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
Among the items on Intuitive Machines’ lander, the IM-2 mission will be one of the first on-site demonstrations of resource use on the Moon. A drill and mass spectrometer will measure the potential presence of volatiles or gases from lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau in the Moon’s South Pole. In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) on the top deck of the lander will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future spacecraft a permanent reference point on the lunar surface. Other technology instruments on this delivery will demonstrate a robust surface communications system and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface.
Launching as a rideshare with the IM-2 delivery, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also will begin its journey to lunar orbit, where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.
The deadline has passed for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch. The agency’s media accreditation policy is available online. More information about media accreditation is available by emailing: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Tuesday, Feb. 25
11 a.m. – Lunar science and technology media teleconference with the following participants:
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Niki Werkheiser, director, technology maturation, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Jackie Quinn, Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1) project manager, NASA Kennedy Daniel Cremons, LRA deputy principal investigator, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Bethany Ehlmann, Lunar Trailblazer principal investigator, Caltech Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines Thierry Klein, president, Bell Labs Solution Research, Nokia Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
https://www.nasa.gov/live/
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 10 a.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 25, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
11:30 a.m. – Lunar delivery readiness media teleconference with the following participants:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines William Gerstenmaier, vice president, build and flight reliability, SpaceX Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
https://www.nasa.gov/live/
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 26, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Launch coverage will begin on NASA+ approximately 45 minutes before liftoff. A specific time will be shared the week of Feb. 24.
NASA Launch Coverage
Audio only of the media teleconferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, the full mission broadcast can be heard on -1220 and -1240, while the countdown net only can be heard on -7135 beginning approximately one hour before the mission broadcast begins.
On launch day, a “tech feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning Feb. 26, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.
NASA Virtual Guests for Launch
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email, including curated mission resources, schedule updates, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch. Print your passport and get ready to add your stamp!
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtag #Artemis. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAArtemis, @NASAMoon
Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, NASAArtemis
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAArtemis
Coverage en Español
Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en español? Check out NASA en español on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for additional mission coverage.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
For more information about the agency’s CLPS initiative, see:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
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Karen Fox / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 321-432-4624
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-8425
antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Science Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
Official portrait of NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, taken on Nov. 22, 2024, at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free announced Wednesday his retirement, effective Saturday, Feb. 22. As associate administrator, Free has been the senior advisor to NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro and leads NASA’s 10 center directors, as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He is the agency’s chief operating officer for more than 18,000 employees and oversaw an annual budget of more than $25 billion.
During his tenure as associate administrator since January 2024, NASA added nearly two dozen new signatories of the Artemis Accords, enabled the first Moon landing through the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative to deliver NASA science to the lunar surface, launched the Europa Clipper mission to study Jupiter’s icy ocean moon, and found molecules containing the ingredients for life in samples from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft.
“Throughout his career, Jim has been the ultimate servant leader – always putting the mission and the people of NASA first,” said Petro. “A remarkable engineer and a decisive leader, he combines deep technical expertise with an unwavering commitment to this agency’s mission. Jim’s legacy is one of selfless service, steadfast leadership, and a belief in the power of people.”
Among the notable contributions to the nation during his NASA career, Free also championed a new path forward to return samples from Mars ahead of human missions to the Red Planet, supported the crews living and working aboard the International Space Station as they conduct hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, and engaged industry in new ways to secure a public/private partnership for NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission on the Moon.
“It has been an honor to serve NASA and walk alongside the workforce that tackles the most difficult engineering challenges, pursues new scientific knowledge in our universe and beyond, develops technologies for future exploration endeavors, all while prioritizing safety every day for people on the ground, in the air, and in space,” Free said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the NASA family and contribute to the agency’s mission for the benefit of humanity.”
During his more than three decades of service, Free has held several leadership roles at the agency. Before being named NASA associate administrator, Free served as associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, where he oversaw the successful Artemis I mission and the development of NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture, defining and managing the systems development for the agency’s Artemis missions and planning for NASA’s integrated deep space exploration approach.
Free began his NASA career in 1990 as an engineer, working on Tracking and Data Relay Satellites at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He later transferred to the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and served in a variety of roles supporting the International Space Station and the development of the Orion spacecraft before transferring to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in 2008. Free returned to NASA Glenn in 2009 and was promoted to chief of the Space Flight Systems Directorate, where he oversaw the center’s space work. Free was named deputy center director in November 2010 and then served as center director from January 2013 until March 2016, when he was appointed to the NASA Headquarters position of deputy associate administrator for Technical [sic] in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
A native of Northeast Ohio, Free earned his bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his master’s degree in space systems engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Free is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Significant Achievement Medal, and numerous other awards.
For more information about NASA, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
-end-
Kathryn Hambleton / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 19, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Leadership View the full article
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By NASA
Official crew portrait for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.Credit: NASA NASA and its partners will discuss the upcoming Expedition 73 mission aboard the International Space Station during a pair of news conferences on Monday, Feb. 24, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Mission leadership will participate in an overview news conference at 2 p.m. EST live on NASA+, covering preparations for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 launch in March and the agency’s crew member rotation launch on Soyuz in April. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
NASA also will host a crew news conference at 4 p.m. and provide coverage on NASA+, followed by individual crew member interviews beginning at 5 p.m. This is the final media opportunity with Crew-10 before the crew members travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.
The Crew-10 mission, targeted to launch Wednesday, March 12, will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, scheduled to launch to the space station on the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft no earlier than April 8, also will participate in the crew briefing and interviews. Kim will be available again on Tuesday, March 18, for limited virtual interviews prior to launch. NASA will provide additional details on that opportunity when available.
For the Crew-10 mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft will launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy. The three-person crew of Soyuz MS-27, including Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
United States-based media seeking to attend in person must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, at 281-483-5111 or at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. U.S. and international media interested in participating by phone must contact NASA Johnson by 9:45 a.m. the day of the event.
U.S. and international media seeking remote interviews with the crew must submit requests to the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. on Feb. 21. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
Briefing participants include (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
2 p.m.: Expedition 73 Overview News Conference
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build & Flight Reliability, SpaceX Mayumi Matsuura, vice president and director general, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, JAXA 4 p.m.: Expedition 73 Crew News Conference
Jonny Kim, Soyuz MS-27 flight engineer, NASA Anne McClain, Crew-10 spacecraft commander, NASA Nichole Ayers, Crew-10 pilot, NASA Takuya Onishi, Crew-10 mission specialist, JAXA Kirill Peskov, Crew-10 mission specialist, Roscosmos 5 p.m.: Crew Individual Interview Opportunities
Crew-10 members and Kim available for a limited number of interviews Official portrait of NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, who will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 73.Credit: NASA Kim is making his first spaceflight after selection as part of the 2017 NASA astronaut class. A native of Los Angeles, Kim is a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and dual designated naval aviator and flight surgeon. Kim also served as an enlisted Navy SEAL. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of San Diego and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Boston. He completed his internship with the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. After completing the initial astronaut candidate training, Kim supported mission and crew operations in various roles, including the Expedition 65 lead operations officer, T-38 operations liaison, and space station capcom chief engineer. Follow @jonnykimusa on X and @jonnykimusa on Instagram.
Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2013, this will be McClain’s second spaceflight. A colonel in the U.S. Army, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and holds master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering, International Security, and Strategic Studies. The Spokane, Washington, native was an instructor pilot in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. McClain has more than 2,300 flight hours in 24 rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including more than 800 in combat, and was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Rugby Team. On her first spaceflight, McClain spent 204 days as a flight engineer during Expeditions 58 and 59, and completed two spacewalks, totaling 13 hours and 8 minutes. Since then, she has served in various roles, including branch chief and space station assistant to the chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office. Follow @astroannimal on X and @astro_annimal on Instagram.
The Crew-10 mission will be the first spaceflight for Ayers, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021. Ayers is a major in the U.S. Air Force and the first member of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class named to a crew. The Colorado native graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a minor in Russian, where she was a member of the academy’s varsity volleyball team. She later earned a master’s in Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University in Houston. Ayers served as an instructor pilot and mission commander in the T-38 ADAIR and F-22 Raptor, leading multinational and multiservice missions worldwide. She has more than 1,400 total flight hours, including more than 200 in combat. Follow @astro_ayers on X and @astro_ayers on Instagram.
With 113 days in space, this mission also will mark Onishi’s second trip to the space station. After being selected as an astronaut by JAXA in 2009, he flew as a flight engineer for Expeditions 48 and 49, becoming the first Japanese astronaut to robotically capture the Cygnus spacecraft. He also constructed a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, the station’s Japanese experiment module. After his first spaceflight, Onishi became certified as a JAXA flight director, leading the team responsible for operating Kibo from JAXA Mission Control in Tsukuba, Japan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Tokyo, and was a pilot for All Nippon Airways, flying more than 3,700 flight hours in the Boeing 767. Follow astro_onishi on X.
The Crew-10 mission will also be Peskov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he earned a degree in Engineering from the Ulyanovsk Civil Aviation School and was a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft for airlines Nordwind and Ikar. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2020, he has additional experience in skydiving, zero-gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.
Learn more about how NASA innovates for the benefit of humanity through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Kenna Pell / Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kenna.m.pell@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 18, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space Anne C. McClain Astronauts Commercial Crew International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research Johnson Space Center Jonny Kim Nichole Ayers View the full article
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron, left, and NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro place a wreath at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial as part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA observed its annual Day of Remembrance on Jan. 23, honoring the members of the NASA family who lost their lives in the pursuit of exploration and discovery for the benefit of humanity. The annual event acknowledges the crews of Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia.
NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro and astronaut Kayla Barron participated in an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Wreaths were laid in memory of the men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.
Acting Director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Kelvin Manning shares insights during Glenn’s NASA Day of Remembrance Observance. He talks about the lessons learned that resulted in increased measures for astronaut safety. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Several agency centers also held observances for NASA Day of Remembrance. NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland hosted an observance on Jan. 28 with remarks from Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon and a keynote address from the acting director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Kelvin Manning.
Kenyon reflected on the loss of the astronauts and the impact on their families. A large part of honoring their legacy, he said, is committing to a culture of safety awareness and practices. Learning what went wrong is vital to safely moving forward into the future. He then introduced a video recognizing the fallen heroes.
NASA Glenn Research Center’s Amanda Shalkhauser plays Taps prior to a moment of silence during Glenn’s NASA Day of Remembrance Observance. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Manning, who worked with the families of the Apollo I astronauts to learn their stories and honor their legacy through an exhibit at NASA Kennedy, shared insights into the causes of the tragedy. He talked about the lessons learned through the investigation that resulted in increased measures for astronaut safety.
Kenyon then carried a memorial wreath to the front of the stage. NASA Glenn’s Amanda Shalkhauser played Taps, which was followed by a moment of silence.
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