Cosmic Vigilance: NASA Tracks Near-Earth Asteroids and Interstellar Comets

NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office released its December 2025 update on near-Earth asteroids, highlighting the latest close approaches and impact risk assessments from observatories across the United States. This monthly report from the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, tracks objects like potentially hazardous asteroids passing within millions of miles of Earth, underscoring ongoing vigilance against cosmic threats.

Trouble struck the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, known as MAVEN, orbiting Mars since 2014. Last contacted on December 6 from NASA's Deep Space Network antennas in California, the probe went silent ahead of Mars solar conjunction starting December 29, when the Sun blocks communications between Earth and Mars until January 16. Engineers in Maryland and California analyzed radio data fragments and commanded recovery attempts, even enlisting the Curiosity rover on Mars to image MAVEN's orbit on December 16 and 20, but no signal appeared. This glitch highlights vulnerabilities in long-duration missions as conjunctions recur every two years.

Interstellar comet 3I slash ATLAS dominated recent observations. Discovered in summer 2025, it made its closest Earth approach this month, tracked by NASA's Psyche spacecraft en route to asteroid Psyche and a fleet of other missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory detailed its hyperbolic orbit confirming interstellar origin, with renewed imaging after perihelion in early December. YouTube skywatching updates from NASA noted its visibility alongside Geminid meteors and planets Jupiter and Saturn.

On the Moon front, the Artemis 2 rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida received an America 250 paint job on December 23, celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary ahead of its crewed lunar flyby in early 2026. This mission from NASA's Johnson Space Center will test systems for future landings, building on Commercial Lunar Payload Services awards to Blue Origin for the VIPER rover to the lunar south pole by late 2027.

These events reveal patterns of intensified comet tracking with interstellar visitors and robust planetary defense, while spacecraft glitches remind us of deep space challenges. NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland leads fission power for lunar bases, signaling a push toward sustainable exploration amid Artemis progress. Worldwide, concepts like using the Sun's gravitational lens beyond Pluto's orbit for exoplanet imaging emerge, but United States efforts drive the core advancements.

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