NASA has selected SpaceX to launch its NEO Surveyor spacecraft in September 2027 to detect potentially hazardous asteroids and comets.

The $100 million mission will send the telescope to a stable orbit 930,000 miles from Earth, where it will scan for NEOs in infrared.

Over five years, it aims to identify at least two-thirds of undiscovered objects 460 feet wide or larger, Space.com has reported.

This marks SpaceX’s third planetary defense mission, following NASA’s DART impact test and Europe’s Hera mission to study the results.

Written by B.C. Begley