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Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Pride Month
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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
Explore This SectionEarth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries NewsScience in the News Calendars In Memoriam MoreArchives 3 min read
In Memoriam: Berrien Moore III [1941–2024]
Berrien Moore III [1941–2024]Photo credit: Moore’s obituary on the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) website Berrien Moore III, Dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma (OU), director of the National Weather Center in Norman, OK, and Vice President for Weather and Climate Programs, died on December 17, 2024. Berrien earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina in 1963 and a doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in 1969. After graduating, he taught mathematics at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and became tenured in 1976.
In 1987, Berrien became director of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (ISEOS) at UNH. NASA chose ISEOS to be one of the 24 founding members of the “Working Prototype Federation” of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) in 1998. Still active more than 25 years later, ESIP is now a thriving nonprofit entity funded by cooperative agreements with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey, which brings together interdisciplinary collaborations (among over 170 partners) to share technical knowledge and engage with data users.
Berrien left UNH in 2008, to serve as the founding Executive Director of Climate Central, a think-tank based in Princeton, NJ, which is dedicated to providing objective and understandable information about climate change
Berrien moved to OU in 2010. Given his diverse academic, research, and career experience in global carbon cycle, biogeochemistry, remote sensing, environmental and space policy, and mathematics, Berrien was a natural choice to become the architect and principal investigator for the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCARB), a proposed NASA Earth Venture Mission that would have monitored plant health and vegetation stress throughout the Americas from geostationary orbit, probing natural sources, sinks, and exchange processes that control carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane in the atmosphere. While the mission was ultimately cancelled, the lessons learned are being applied to similar current and future Earth observing endeavors, e,g, NASA’s ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) mission.
Berrien served on and chaired numerous government-affiliated scientific committees throughout his career. From 1995–1998 he served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Global Change Research, which produced the landmark report, “Global Environment Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade.” In 2011, he was an author on the National Research Council’s (NRC) decadal survey, “Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategies for the Future.”
Berrien participated on international scientific committees as well. From 1998–2002, he was the chair of the Science Committee of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP). He was also a lead author within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report, which was released in 2001.
Berrien served in several roles specific to NASA, including as a committee member and later chair of the organization’s Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee. He served as Chair of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Payload Advisory Committee, member and Chair of NASA’s Earth Science and Applications Committee, and member of the NASA Advisory Council. He was also active at NOAA, having chaired the agency’s Research Review Team and served on the Research and Development Portfolio Review Team for NOAA’s Science Advisory Board.
Berrien received NASA’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, for outstanding service and the NOAA Administrator’s Recognition Award. He also received the 2007 Dryden Lectureship in Research Medal from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and was honored for his contributions to the IPCC when the organization received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
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By Space Force
A joint team of AFGSC Airmen and Vandenberg SFB Guardians launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a single telemetered joint test assembly re-entry vehicle from Vandenberg SFB.
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By NASA
The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Michael Flynn, Ross Beyer, and Matt Johnson. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond
Space Biosciences Star: Michael Flynn
Michael Flynn, a senior scientist and engineer in the Space Biosciences Branch, has over 35 years of groundbreaking contributions to life support systems and space technologies, including over 120 peer-reviewed publications and multiple prestigious awards. He is being recognized for his leadership in advancing water recycling technologies and his dedication to fostering innovation and mentorship within his team.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Ross Beyer
Ross Beyer is a planetary scientist in the Planetary Systems Branch for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, with scientific expertise in geomorphology, surface processes, and remote sensing of the solid bodies in our Solar System. He is recognized for exemplifying leadership and teamwork through his latest selected 5-year proposal to support the Ames Stereo Pipeline, implementing open science processes, and serving as a Co-Investigator on several flight missions.
Earth Science Star: Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson is a research scientist in the Biospheric Science Branch (code SGE). Matt is recognized for his exemplary productivity in publishing in high-impact journals and success at leading and co-developing competitive proposals, while serving as a mentor and leader. Matt recently expanded his leadership skills by assuming the position of Assistant Branch Chief of SGE and as an invited lead co-author of the December 2024 PANGEA white paper, which could lead to a new NASA HQ Terrestrial Ecology campaign.
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By Space Force
Secretary Pete Hegseth was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Defense.
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