NASA's NEO Surveyor mission is one step closer to launch. A newly released image shows a technician inspecting the spacecraft's large sunshade, a 20-foot structure built by BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems that will keep the infrared telescope cold and supply power during its asteroid hunt.
NEO Surveyor is designed to find the hardest-to-spot near-Earth asteroids and comets, including those hiding in the direction of the Sun — a blind spot for ground-based optical telescopes. Finding these objects early gives scientists time to track their paths and, if one ever threatened Earth, warn and prepare people well in advance.
✦ A giant sunshade helps a telescope spot space rocks before they spot us.