NASA Bids Farewell to NEOWISE with Conclusion of Near-Earth Object Detection Mission | UAP

Engineers finally sent the command for the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) to terminate transmission on August 8, 2024, after concluding its mission at the end of July. The transmission followed the final downloads from the planetary defense mission to keep an eye on comets and asteroids coming into the vicinity of Earth.

On Thursday, current and former team members gathered with NASA Headquarters representatives at the Earth Orbiting Missions Operation Center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. Those present witnessed the signal’s transmission to NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to relay to the NEOWISE spacecraft.

“The NEOWISE mission has been an extraordinary success story as it helped us better understand our place in the universe by tracking asteroids and comets that could be hazardous for us on Earth,” said Nicola Fox, NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate associate administrator, in a statement.

Lacking an onboard propulsion system to reposition itself, the spacecraft fell victim to its environment. Increasing solar activity has led to a corresponding increase in the temperature of the upper atmosphere, causing…