NEAR Shoemaker:
NEAR was NASA's first Discovery Program spacecraft to be launched and the first spacecraft to orbit and touchdown on the surface of an asteroid.

After a flyby and imaging run past asteroid 253 Mathilde in 1997, NEAR began orbiting asteroid 433 Eros on February 14, 2000. The spacecraft returned the highest resolution images made of an asteroid at the time, as well as measuring its size, shape, mass, mass distribution, gravity and magnetic field.

On February 12, 2001, the spacecraft made the first controlled descent to the surface of an asteroid, snapping an incredible series of 69 close-up photos of the rocky surface. After landing, the spacecraft sent back data from the surface of Eros for two weeks.

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02.17.96:  Launch 06.27.97:  Asteroid Mathilde Flyby 12.23.99:  Asteroid Eros Flyby 02.14.00:  Eros Rendezvous 02.12.01:  Touchdown on Asteroid Eros (03:02:10 EST) 03.01.01:  End of Mission		12.27.04:  Asteroid Earthquakes 07.20.04:  Martian Meteorite Found in Antarctica 12.12.02:  NEAR Shoemaker's Silent Treatment More Headlines
NEAR photographed 60 percent of the surface of asteroid Mathilde (right) in a 1997 flyby. The spacecraft was the first to rely on solar power beyond Mars orbit. NEAR touched down on asteroid Eros at a gentle 1.5 meters per second (3.6 mph).		Solar System Bodies: Asteroids Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Home Page Near Earth Object Program Report of the U.K. Task Force on Near Earth Objects More Links