NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft launched to Earth orbit in 2009 and was placed in hibernation in 2011. Then, in 2013, the probe was reactivated for a new mission called NEOWISE that centered on hunting for asteroids and comets.
NEOWISE closed its eyes for good this past summer and fell back to Earth on Nov. 1. During its long and productive life, the probe spent nearly 15 years in space, conducting 21 infrared surveys of the entire night sky and capturing all manner of cosmic phenomena.
