Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, observatory code C51, Explorer 92 and SMEX-6) is a NASA infrared astronomy space telescope in the Explorers Program launched in December 2009. WISE discovered thousands of minor planets and numerous star clusters. Its observations also supported the discovery of the first Y-type brown dwarf and Earth trojan asteroid. WISE performed an all-sky astronomical survey with images in 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 μm wavelength range bands, over ten months using a 40 cm (16 in) diameter infrared telescope in Earth orbit.
WISE spacecraft | |
| Names | Explorer 92 SMEX-6 NEOWISE Near-Earth Object WISE |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Infrared telescope |
| Operator | NASA / JPL |
| COSPAR ID | 2009-071A |
| SATCAT no. | 36119 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 10 months (planned) 14 years, 1 month and 30 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Explorer XCII |
| Spacecraft type | Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer |
| Bus | RS-300 |
| Manufacturer | Ball Aerospace & Technologies |
| Launch mass | 661 kg (1,457 lb) |
| Payload mass | 347 kg (765 lb) |
| Dimensions | 2.85 × 2 × 1.73 m (9 ft 4 in × 6 ft 7 in × 5 ft 8 in) |
| Power | 551 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 December 2009, 14:09:33 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta II 7320-10C (Delta 347) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-2W |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| Entered service | 2010 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 2025 (planned) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 488.3 km (303.4 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 494.8 km (307.5 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.50° |
| Period | 94.45 minutes |
| Main telescope | |
| Diameter | 40 cm (16 in) |
| Wavelengths | 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 µm |
| Instruments | |
| Four infrared detectors | |
Explorer Program | |
After its solid hydrogen coolant depleted, it was placed in hibernation mode in February 2011. In 2013, NASA reactivated the WISE telescope to search for near-Earth objects (NEO), such as comets and asteroids, that could collide with Earth. The reactivation mission was called Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE). As of August 2023, NEOWISE is 40% through the 20th coverage of the full sky.
Science operations and data processing for WISE and NEOWISE take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. The WISE All-Sky (WISEA) data, including processed images, source catalogs and raw data, was released to the public on 14 March 2012, and is available at the Infrared Science Archive.
The NEOWISE mission is expected to end by early-2025 and the satellite to reentry some time after.