Near-Earth Object Surveyor Project Progress towards CDR

Abstract— The Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEOS) is completing the detailed design phase of the project for both the instrument and the spacecraft with all flight hardware currently in fabrication and/or testing. NEO Surveyor is designed to detect, categorize and characterize NEOs using infrared imaging. The NEOS project responds to National Research Council’s report Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys & Hazard Mitigation Strategies (2010), the U. S. National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan (June 2018), and the objectives of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). The goals of the NEOS project are to: (1) identify impact hazards to the Earth posed by NEOs (both asteroids and comets) by performing a comprehensive survey of the NEO population; (2) obtain detailed physical characterization data for individual objects that are likely to pose an impact hazard; (3) characterize the entire population of potentially hazardous NEOs to inform potential mitigation strategies by assisting the determination of impact energies through accurate object size determination and physical properties. The mission will make significant progress toward the George E. Brown, Jr. NEO Survey Program objective of detecting, tracking, cataloging, and characterizing at least 90% of NEOs equal to or larger than 140 m in diameter. The project is a collaboration between NASA-JPL, the University of California – Los Angeles and industry, with BAE Systems notably providing the spacecraft and key instrument elements. The current status of the hardware build, analyses and testing are discussed at the subsystem and system level. Issues and trades completed and underway are covered. Other key development activities are discussed and put into perspective for the overall project. The paper describes the maturation of the integrated modelling approach being used on NEOS to verify the project margin on meeting the science requirements.