NEAR Shoemaker

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker (NEAR Shoemaker), renamed after its 1996 launch in honor of planetary scientist <a href="/facts/Eugene_Merle_Shoemaker/nYNl8t4v">Eugene Shoemaker</a>, was a <a href="/facts/Robotic_spacecraft/Frlbbkvu">robotic</a> <a href="/facts/Space_probe/AeWRBITP">space probe</a> designed by the <a href="/facts/Johns_Hopkins_University/56US0mHw">Johns Hopkins University</a> <a href="/facts/Applied_Physics_Laboratory/PN4H87V9">Applied Physics Laboratory</a> for <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> to study the <a href="/facts/Near-Earth_asteroid/UwnPRnSN">near-Earth asteroid</a> <a href="/facts/433_Eros/QWmGbK63">Eros</a> from close orbit over a period of a year. It was the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid and land on it successfully. In February 2000, the mission closed in on the asteroid and orbited it. On February 12, 2001, Shoemaker touched down on the asteroid and was terminated just over two weeks later.
The primary scientific objective of NEAR was to return data on the bulk properties, composition, <a href="/facts/Mineral/LkUFbNmv">mineralogy</a>, morphology, internal <a href="/facts/Mass/HHdc8XmF">mass</a> distribution, and <a href="/facts/Magnetic_field/Ta8Ev588">magnetic field</a> of Eros. Secondary objectives include studies of <a href="/facts/Regolith/EdXuHK56">regolith</a> properties, interactions with the <a href="/facts/Solar_wind/BvuB3dT8">solar wind</a>, possible current activity as indicated by dust or gas, and the asteroid spin state. This data was used to help understand the characteristics of <a href="/facts/Asteroid/g7Ulr1VB">asteroids</a> in general, their relationship to <a href="/facts/Meteoroid/5PexF2mR">meteoroids</a> and <a href="/facts/Comet/w34utQCd">comets</a>, and the conditions in the early Solar System. To accomplish these goals, the spacecraft was equipped with an <a href="/facts/X-ray_spectroscopy/spWfPwYK">X-ray</a>/<a href="/facts/Gamma-ray_spectrometer/LFH3jIe6">gamma-ray spectrometer</a>, a near-infrared imaging spectrograph, a multi-spectral camera fitted with a <a href="/facts/CCD_imaging/l6xffIcz">CCD imaging</a> detector, a <a href="/facts/Laser_range-finder/XlejNw9I">laser rangefinder</a>, and a <a href="/facts/Magnetometer/dqX9g1og">magnetometer</a>. A radio science experiment was also performed using the NEAR tracking system to estimate the <a href="/facts/Gravitational/bqAN7DdQ">gravity</a> field of the asteroid. The total mass of the instruments was 56 kg (123 lb), requiring 80 watts of power.

NEAR Shoemaker open-in-new

NEAR Shoemaker