NASA is about to launch the smallest asteroid research ship

NASA on January 20 announced that, during the launch of Artemis I, another spacecraft called the Near-Earth Asteroid Reconnaissance (NEA Scout) spacecraft will also fly into space. Artemis I was an unmanned mission to test the SLS super rocket and Orion spacecraft, paving the way for a program to return humans to the Moon.

Illustration of the NEA Scout with its sails wide open as it flies over the target asteroid.

The NEA Scout is a compact cubesat. The NEA Scout's Sun Sail is made of super-thin plastic coated aluminum and will be about 86 square meters when unfolded. Meanwhile, the cubesat is only as big as a shoe box.

NEA Scout's target is 2020 GE, an asteroid estimated to be smaller than a bus with a diameter of less than 18 meters. According to NASA, this will be the smallest asteroid ever studied by the spacecraft.

The NEA Scout will fly to 2020 GE by opening its Solar sails and harnessing solar radiation for propulsion. This is NASA's first deep space mission deployed this way. Solar sail technology is still relatively new. Slightly different from the name, the spacecraft will rely on photons from the Sun instead of the wind. The Planetary Society tested the technology with the 2019 LightSail 2 launch.

NASA plans to study GE 2020 and find out if it's a single solid mass or a collection of compacted rock formations. "While large asteroids are of greatest concern in terms of planetary defense, objects like 2020 GE are much more common and potentially hazardous to Earth, despite their small size. ", said Julie Castillo-Rogez, scientist on the NEA Scout mission.

Artemis I is expected to launch this year, possibly as early as March or April. If all goes well, NEA Scout will reach the target asteroid by the end of 2023.