  NELIOTA is a new ESA activity launched at the National Observatory of Athens
in February 2015 aiming to determine the distribution and frequency of small
near-earth objects (NEOs) via lunar monitoring. The project involves upgrading
the 1.2m Kryoneri telescope at the National Observatory of Athens, procuring
two fast-frame cameras, and developing a software system, which will control
the telescope and the cameras, process the images and automatically detect NEO
impacts. NELIOTA will provide a web-based user interface, where the impact
events will be reported and made available to the scientific community and the
general public. The objective of this 3.5 year activity is to design, develop
and implement a highly automated lunar monitoring system, which will conduct an
observing campaign for 2 years in search of NEO impact flashes on the Moon. The
impact events will be verified, characterised and reported. The 1.2m telescope
will be capable of detecting flashes much fainter than current, small-aperture,
lunar monitoring telescopes. NELIOTA is therefore expected to characterise the
frequency and distribution of NEOs weighing as little as a few grams.
