In just a few hours, NASA will launch the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) into space to scan and examine the universe for undiscovered entities such as comets and asteroids.

The spacecraft has an infrared camera that can detect objects that emit heat and light, which other telescopes in the outer space might overlook.

Aboard the Delta II rocket, WISE is set to blast from earth on Monday morning from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, anytime between 0900 and 0923 ET.

The unmanned, solar-powered WISE was supposed to be launched last Friday, but the date was postponed due to a booster steering engine problem.

It will orbit the earth for least nine months, mapping the cosmos in infrared light and taking pictures every 11 seconds. It will be searching for brown dwarfs and far-away galaxies.

Deputy project scientist Amy Mainzer said, “We can help protect our Earth by learning more about the diversity of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets.”

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