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Asteroids, Comets & Meteors

Don’t let the name fool you. Our solar system’s small bodies – asteroids, comets, and meteors – pack big surprises. These chunks of rock, ice, and metal are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. They are a lot like a fossil record of our early solar system. There are currently known asteroids and known comets.

Explore the 3D world of asteroids, comets, and NEOs. Learn about past and future missions, tracking and predicting orbits, and close approaches to Earth.

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Explore in 3D—Eyes on the Solar System

Eyes on the Solar System lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, comets and the spacecraft exploring them from 1950 to 2050. Ride with the Curiosity Rover as it lands on Mars or fly by Pluto with the New Horizons spacecraft all from the comfort of your home computer.

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NASA approves development of NEO Surveyor for a launch no later than June 2028.

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NASA announced Friday the agency decided its Psyche mission will go forward, targeting a launch period opening on Oct. 10, 2023.

Psyche Launch Set for October 2023

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NASA Mars lander felt the ground shake during the impact while cameras aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the yawning new crater from space.

Stunning New Meteoroid Impact on Mars

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This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about the Lucy Mission.

Lucy Mission Resources

Lucy Mission Resources

This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about OSIRIS-REx.

OSIRIS-REx Resources

OSIRIS-REx Resources

While most NASA missions are acronyms, this particular mission took a different path.

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DART successfully impacted its asteroid target on Sept. 26, 2022, in NASA's first attempt to move an asteroid in space.

NASA's DART Mission Hits Asteroid in First-Ever Planetary Defense Test

NASA's DART Mission Hits Asteroid in First-Ever Planetary Defense Test

On March 27, 2022, Lucy’s science team discovered that the smallest of the mission’s Trojan asteroid targets, Polymele, has a satellite of its own.

NASA's Lucy Team Discovers Moon Around Asteroid Polymele

NASA's Lucy Team Discovers Moon Around Asteroid Polymele

To most of us, dust is an annoyance. But these tiny particles that float about and settle on surfaces play an important role across the solar system.

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10 Things: Dust in the Wind (on Mars and Well Beyond)

The path through the solar system is a rocky road. Asteroids, comets, Kuiper Belt Objects—all kinds of small bodies of rock, metal and ice are in constant motion as they orbit the Sun. But what’s the difference between them? Why do these miniature worlds fascinate space explorers so much?

10 Things: What's That Space Rock?

10 Things: What's That Space Rock?

Over 100 participants from 18 countries – including NASA scientists and the agency’s NEOWISE mission – took part in the international exercise.

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Planetary Defense Exercise Uses Apophis as Hazardous Asteroid Stand-In

NASA's Lucy spacecraft observed the May 15-16, 2022, total lunar eclipse from 64 million miles from the Earth.

NASA's Lucy Mission Observes a Lunar Eclipse

NASA's Lucy Mission Observes a Lunar Eclipse

NASA has extended the planetary science missions of eight of its spacecraft due to their scientific productivity and potential to deepen our knowledge.

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NASA-funded ATLAS has reached become the first survey capable of searching the entire dark sky every 24 hours for near-Earth objects.

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About 55 miles above Earth, minuscule fireballs leave a puff of tiny particles called meteoric smoke.

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Tiny Meteors Leave Smoke in the Atmosphere. NASA's Studying It.

Learn more about the growing population of near-Earth objects with NASA’s new 3D real-time web-based application.

NASA's ‘Eyes on Asteroids' Reveals Our Near-Earth Object Neighborhood

NASA's ‘Eyes on Asteroids' Reveals Our Near-Earth Object Neighborhood

NASA received 23 millimeter-sized grains and 4 containers of even finer material from Ryugu – 10% of the total collected – from JAXA,

NASA Receives Special Cosmic Delivery of Asteroid Sample from Japan

NASA Receives Special Cosmic Delivery of Asteroid Sample from Japan

The new system improves NASA's capabilities to assess the impact risk of asteroids that can come close to our planet.

NASA's Next-Generation Asteroid Impact Monitoring System Goes Online

NASA's Next-Generation Asteroid Impact Monitoring System Goes Online