Sunshade for NASA’s NEO Surveyor Mission Ready for Its Day in Sun
Development of NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission continues as the spacecraft’s largest component gets closer to how it will look when it launches. Recently, teams completed work on integrating solar arrays onto the spacecraft’s sunshade, a structure primarily designed to block the Sun’s glare. The sunshade will keep the infrared space telescope cool as […] The post Sunshade for…
NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission has recently completed development of its large sunshade, a crucial component that will keep the infrared telescope cool while searching for near-Earth asteroids and comets. The sunshade, measuring 20 feet tall and 8 feet wide, features two flat panels joined at a 23.5-degree angle, and is covered with 864 interconnected solar cells that can generate up to 2 kilowatts of power.
This specialized solar array will provide all the necessary electricity to charge the spacecraft’s onboard batteries. The sunshade’s design is essential for blocking the glare of sunlight entering the telescope’s 20-inch-wide aperture, enabling it to detect even the most challenging-to-find asteroids and comets, including those situated in the direction of the Sun.
The telescope’s infrared detector arrays, tuned to generate detailed images of celestial bodies, will help NASA better understand the number and nature of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.
Written by urgent.news from NASA Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
