SPACE.com -- NEAR Shoemaker Skims Eros

This picture covers a region about 300 meters (1,000 feet) across. Many rocks of all sizes and shapes litter the scene. Locally, fine debris or regolith buries the rocks. The large boulder at the center right of the image is about 25 meters (82 feet) acro

This image was taken in the early hours of October 26, 2000, near the closest approach of NEAR Shoemaker's low-altitude flyover of Eros. At that time, the spacecraft's digital camera was looking at a region just 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) awa y, about 300 m

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	NEAR Shoemaker Skims Eros By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 10:15 am ET 26 October 2000

WASHINGTON -- The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft dropped within three miles (5

WASHINGTON -- 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.

"The good news is that we didnt hit the asteroid. And there is no bad news," said Robert Farquhar, mission director for NEAR at Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.

Map shows topography of Eros' gravity field. Objects on Eros would tend to move downhill from red areas to blue or green areas.

"Theres quite a few images. Things look great. You can see details in the rocks now. This is about four to five times better than weve gotten so far," Farquhar told SPACE.com.

Michael Buckley, a spokesman for APL, said that all went well with the flyby. Imagery from the close-up inspection is to be released throughout the day, he said.

The low-altitude flyover brought the spacecraft about as close as a commuter aircraft flies as it crosses Earth.

Swooping success

NEAR began its swoop over Eros in the early morning hours Thursday. The probe shot across the asteroid, making its closest approach above the surface at roughly 3:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (07:00 GMT) according to ground-control calculations.

On-board instruments were at the ready to snag a wealth of science data about the asteroid during the up-close-and-personal tour. Slow-going NEAR zipped by Eros at about 14 miles per hour (6 meters per second).

Farquhar said that later today NEAR will be put into a transition orbit. That puts the probe into a safe trajectory where it circles the space rock at a higher altitude. Eventually, the spacecraft is to be boosted into a 124-mile (200-kilometer) orbit.

The giant shoe-shaped Eros is slowly rotating, so great care was taken to avoid crashing into the hulk. "Today, we just went over the heel. Next time well fly over the toe of Eros," Farquhar said.

Touchy touchdown

On February 12, plans are to lower NEAR toward Eros in what is billed as a "controlled descent," but is also another way of saying landing. Imagery snapped of the asteroid as it drops toward the surface is expected to be 12 times better than pictures already received.

When the mission ends in February 2001, NEAR will have operated for a full year after it began looping the asteroid.

Staggering images are expected from NEAR as it drops toward the Eros rocky surface. Because the camera is, in essence, a telescope, pictures of the surface will become blurred as NEAR moves closer and closer to its final resting spot. Images of the distant horizon, however, are likely to be relayed back to Earth.

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