10 Asteroids Named to Honour ESA's Role in Planetary Defence
In 2025, the International Astronomical Union approved the naming of 10 asteroids after people and places associated with the European Space Agency's (ESA) efforts to discover, monitor, explore, and protect Earth from asteroids and comets. These names celebrate the contributions of individuals and institutions within ESA's Planetary Defence Programme.
Asteroid Named for ESA Mission Control Centre
The asteroid provisionally known as 2021 FE40 has been officially named (810657) ESOC, after ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. ESOC has been Europe's control centre for ambitious spacecraft missions for nearly 60 years, managing both Earth-orbiting and deep-space missions.
ESOC also serves as the administrative hub for ESA's Space Safety Programme, which includes the Planetary Defence team. The asteroid, discovered in March 2021 by astronomer Erwin Schwab and Detlef Koschny, ESA's former Head of Planetary Defence, is estimated to be between 600 and 1300 meters across, significantly larger than its namesake, the ESOC campus.
Schwab and Koschny were invited to ESOC to celebrate the naming of this asteroid and others as part of ESA Director of Operations Rolf Densing's New Year's address on January 13.
"The naming of these asteroids after ESA sites, astronomers, mathematicians, and others acknowledges the exceptional work of the Planetary Defence Office and the teams dedicated to studying asteroids and using their knowledge to safeguard our planet," said Rolf Densing.
Other Asteroids Named for ESA People and Places
The asteroid named ESOC is one of 10 asteroids (and one comet) named in 2025 to honour individuals and places associated with ESA's Planetary Defence activities. The full list includes:
- (126247) Laurafaggioli, named after Laura Faggioli for her work on asteroid orbit determination and risk assessment.
- (126248) Dariooliviero, named after Dario Oliviero for his operational data provision.
- (296587) Ocaña, named after Francisco Ocaña for his achievements in Planetary Defence.
- (457818) Ramírezmoreta, named after Pablo Ramírez Moreta for his astronomy research and work in the Planetary Defence team.
- (826631) Frascati, named after the city of Frascati, home to ESA's European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), which hosts the Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC).
- (438881) Michaelkhan, named after former ESA Mission Analyst Michael Khan for his contributions to Hera and Ramses missions.
- (386618) Accomazzo, named after ESA's former Head of Mission Operations, Andrea Accomazzo.
- (321480) Juanluiscano, named after ESA's Juan Luis Cano for his engineering and project management contributions.
- (241373) Richardmoissl, named after Richard Moissl, the current Head of ESA's Planetary Defence Office.
- P/2025 W3 (Kresken), named after ESA astronomer Rainer Kresken.
How Asteroids Get Their Names
The asteroid naming process is managed by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature. Initially, asteroids receive a 'provisional designation' based on the discovery date, with the year, half-month, and discovery sequence number included. For example, 2021 FE40 indicates the year 2021, the second half of March, and the 1005th discovery in that half-month.
Once the asteroid's orbit is well-understood, it receives a permanent number. Around 850,000 of the 1.3 million known asteroids have been numbered. Once numbered, discoverers propose a name, which is then reviewed by the Working Group and must adhere to IAU guidelines, including being pronounceable, not offensive, and not exceeding 16 characters.
