The growing activity of the Sun, which is already affecting radio communications on Earth, will cause the NEOWISE space telescope to burn up in the atmosphere of our planet. The reason for this is the heating and expansion of the atmosphere from solar activity, which leads to faster deceleration of objects in orbit. NEOWISE is expected to complete its mission after 2024, when it will no longer be able to adjust its orbit.
NEOWISE, originally known as WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), was launched 14 years ago. Two years after the launch, the telescope lost its sensitivity due to a lack of cryogenic cooler. Renamed NEOWISE, it was adapted to search for objects close to Earth, as its infrared sensors had lost the ability to observe distant galaxies.
During its operation, NEOWISE scanned the sky more than 20 times, detecting more than 3000 objects approaching the Earth, of which more than 200 were recorded by this particular observatory. This mission has made a significant contribution to our knowledge of nearby astronomical objects and the threats they may pose.
