Mission Archive: NEAR Encounter at Eros

NEAR Collects Data from Asteroid's Surface
Data is being received from NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker spacecraft sitting on the dusty surface of Asteroid 433 Eros.

NEAR: The Little Spacecraft That Could
Right now, Andrew Santo and his colleagues at The Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) are basking in the glow of success. Last Monday their creation, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft, made history's first landing on an asteroid, bringing a spectacular finale to a year of scientific discovery. But seven years ago, you wouldn't have wanted Santo's job.

NEAR Landing Sparks Claim-Jumping Dispute
The soft-landing by NEAR Shoemaker on Asteroid 433 Eros has caught the attention of a group claiming they own the giant space rock.

Pictures of NEAR's Date with Eros
On its way down to a successful asteroid landing, NASA's NEAR spacecraft took dozens of close-up images of Asteroid Eros 433.

Asteroid Landing Mission Could Be Extended
NASA is studying an option to continue operating the NEAR Shoemaker probe on asteroid Eros 433 for an extended period, beyond the February 14 cutoff date that had been planned earlier.

Spacecraft Makes Historic First-Ever Asteroid Landing
Scientists are delighted with the high-quality, close-up images of asteroid 433 Eros which the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft transmitted as it floated to a historic landing on the rocky surface nearly 200 million miles from Earth on Monday, February 12.

On The Rebound: NEAR Team Ponders Lifting Off from Eros
What comes down, may go back up again. Valentine's Day is usually not a good time to seek a trial separation. But that's exactly what NEAR mission scientists are hoping for on Wednesday, February 14.

Asteroid Landing Looms: Probe Sends Back Target Pics
A NASA spacecraft circling an asteroid that one day could menace Earth is out of money, nearly out of fuel and just about out of time as its date with destiny approaches.

NEAR Ready for Tricky Asteroid Landing
Taking a "rest stop" on another world. That is the final assignment for NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker spacecraft.

Asteroid Landing Draws Near
NASA has okayed a February 12 controlled descent of the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft onto the dust-laden, cratered and boulder-strewn surface of Asteroid 433 Eros.

Top Space Science Stories of 2000 Number 9 - NEAR Shoemaker Meets Eros
A Valentine's Day present that has been a sweet success. Since February 14, NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft has been orbiting 433 Eros .

Film Captures Close Encounter With Eros
Scientists have released a 90-second movie showing the close-up glance NEAR Shoemaker stole last month of 433 Eros, the asteroid that has held the spacecraft in its orbital embrace since Valentine's Day.

Latest NEAR Images Reveal Eros Asteroid's Special Surface
Images taken during last week's low-altitude plunge toward Asteroid 433 Eros by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft show it has a thick carpet of regolith -- broken up, dirt-like material that covers the entire space rock.

Eros Close-Up Surprises Scientists
Eros rocks with big- time boulders. Scientists got an eyeful of that thanks to an October 26 low-altitude flyby of Asteroid 433 Eros by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft.

NEAR Successfully Skims Eros' Surface
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft dropped within 3 miles (5.3 kilometers) of Asteroid 433 Eros early this morning, pulling off a low-altitude flyby of the space rock that put smiles on the faces of scientists.

NEAR's Diving Catch
With a huff and a puff of its thrusters, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is diving toward asteroid Eros, on its way to a death-defying, low altitude flyby early Thursday morning of the space rock.

NEAR Shoemaker on Course for a Close Encounter
A NASA spacecraft that has been circling an asteroid for the past eight months fired its engines to prepare for its closest and most risky look yet to the space rock.

NEAR Shoemaker on Course for a Close Encounter
With a few bursts from its thrusters, NEAR Shoemaker performed the first of the maneuvers that will send it on a low pass over Eros later this month.

Square Craters Found On Eros
Space scientists are squaring off with asteroid Eros. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft has eyed unusual square craters on Asteroid 433 Eros, about 109 million miles (176 million kilometers) from Earth.

Eros Unveiled: New Clues to Solar System's Birth
The first known landslides on an asteroid have been spotted on Eros, a 20-mile- (32-kilometer-) long, potato-shaped space rock that is providing new clues about the formation of the solar system and the birth of planets.

NEAR Spacecraft Adopts New Orbit Around Eros
After five months of inching closer for a better view of its main target, NASA's Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous-Shoemaker (NEAR-Shoemaker) probe has begun pulling away.

Milestone Map of Asteroid Eros
A Kodak moment for sure, but millions of miles from Earth. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft has reached a photographic high point in its mapping mission of asteroid Eros. The NASA probe has snapped digital images of the giant shoe-shaped world, from heel to toe.

Diving In On Asteroid Eros
Project scientists for the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft are recommending to NASA that a set of power dives over Asteroid Eros be done this October. Also decided by scientists is that no attempt should be made to soft-land the spacecraft atop the space rock at mission's end.

Space Probe Moves In On Asteroid
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft will power dive toward asteroid Eros in a few weeks, giving scientists more data to help decipher the physical makeup and history of the huge potato-shaped body.

Asteroid Spacecraft's Mineral Mapper Dead
Controllers of the first robotic mission to orbit an asteroid have turned off one of the spacecraft's six instruments after it unexpectedly overheated and ceased returning data to Earth about Asteroid 433 Eros' surface minerals.

Asteroid Eros May Be As Old as Solar System
The birth of a 21-mile- (34-kilometer-) long asteroid known as Eros may have coincided with the formation of the solar system -- a discovery that may show how other space rocks evolved, according to new data from NASA.

NEAR Moves Into Closer Orbit Yet with Eros
The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft entered its closest orbit yet around the asteroid Eros asteroid on Sunday, April 30.

NEAR Probe to Zoom in on Asteroid Eros
Scientists are beaming as the Near Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) probe slips ever closer to Asteroid 433 Eros.

Eros Unveiled: New Clues to Solar System's Birth
The first known landslides on an asteroid have been spotted on Eros, a 20-mile- (32-kilometer-) long, potato-shaped space rock that is providing new clues about the formation of the solar system and the birth of planets.

NEAR Renamed for Asteroid Pioneer
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) probe has been renamed in honor of pioneering astrogeologist Dr. Eugene Shoemaker.

Latest Eros Asteroid Images Reveal Cratered Surface
The latest images and data from the asteroid Eros show a boulder- and crater-covered world with deposits of iron and silicon.

So NEAR, So Good: Asteroid Orbit Delighting Scientists
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is preparing to step down its altitude Friday and draw itself ever-closer to asteroid Eros.

Eros: A Chip Off the Old Block
Ecstatic scientists getting their first good look at Asteroid 433 Eros from NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft said Thursday that the cosmic rock is a chunk that broke off from a larger, planet-sized body.

NEAR Spacecraft Slips Into Asteroid Orbit
Jubilant space scientists waved a thumbs-up from behind their mission control computers today as NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft plopped itself into orbit around asteroid 433 Eros.

What Does 'Love' Look Like?
As a NASA spacecraft speeds closer to an asteroid in preparation for entering orbit, scientists are getting closer looks each day at what this rock named for the Greek god of love looks like.

NEAR Encounter: Valentine's Day
SPACE.com coverage of the Feb. 14, 2000 NEAR encounter of Eros.

Know Thy Enemy - NEAR'S Hidden Agenda
Mick Jagger might not be impressed, but excited scientists are looking at never-before-seen details of one of nature's own rolling stones.

Romancing the Stone: NEAR Spacecraft Closes In On Eros Asteroid
It's a match made in heaven. Two celestial sweethearts are headed for a not-so-secret rendezvous more than 160 million miles from Earth.

NEAR Not Far from Valentine's Rendezvous
NASA reported Thursday that its first spacecraft ever slated to orbit an asteroid is on track for a Valentine's Day encounter with a stony body named, appropriately enough, Eros.

NEAR Snaps Picture of Asteroid Eros as Navigation Aid
With an eye toward becoming the first artificial satellite of an asteroid, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft recently snapped a picture of its future host, Eros.

NEAR's Second Coming
The next test of NASA's faster, cheaper, better approach to space exploration is set to take place next month when the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft closes in on and then starts circling its target -- a huge chunk of space rock called 433 Eros.