Near Shoemaker Earth Asteroid Rendezvous

4 Pages·1996·0.05 MB·English

NEAR Information http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/near.html
NEAR Shoemaker
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
See the NEAR Eros Descent Images
Communications with the NEAR spacecraft on the surface of Eros have ended, the last reception of signal
was at 7:00 p.m. EST on 28 February. See the NASA press release for more details. A graph of the
measurements of the gamma-ray spectrometer on the surface of Eros is available.
NEAR Shoemaker touched down on the surface of Eros at 3:01:52 p.m. EST (20:01:52 UT) Monday, 12
February and contact has been maintained. The spacecraft apparently came to rest with the camera and
gamma-ray spectrometer pointing towards the ground and the solar panels and low gain antenna pointing
generally towards the Earth and Sun. Ample power is available and data can be transmitted at about 10
bits/sec.
The spacecraft impacted at a velocity of about 1.5 to 1.8 meters/second (3.4 to 4.0 mph). The spacecraft
obtained 69 high-resolution images before touchdown, the final image showing an area 6 meters across.
NEAR was not designed as a lander, but survived the low-velocity, low-gravity impact, a signal continued
after the "landing" using the omni-directional low-gain antenna as a beacon. The NEAR team will not be
attempting to lift off from the asteroid again. For more, see the NASA Press Release
For details of the plans for the landing, see the 31 January NASA Press Release
Launch Date: 17 February 1996 - 20:43 UT (3:43 PM EST)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Planned on-orbit mass: 805 kg (includes 318 kg propellant)
Power System: Solar panels of 1800 W
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission is the first of NASA's Discovery missions and the
first mission ever to go into orbit around an asteroid. The spacecraft is equipped with an X-ray/gamma ray
spectrometer, a near-infrared imaging spectrograph, a multispectral camera fitted with a CCD imaging
1 of 4 3/20/2006 8:01 PM
NEAR Information http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/near.html
detector, a laser altimeter, and a magnetometer. A radio science experiment will also be performed using the
NEAR tracking system to estimate the gravity field of the asteroid. The ultimate goal of the mission was to
rendezvous with and achieve orbit around the near Earth asteroid 433 Eros in January, 1999, and study the
asteroid for approximately one year. A problem caused an abort of the first encounter burn and the mission
had to be rescoped for a 23 December 1998 flyby of Eros and a later encounter and orbit on 14 February
2000. Eros is an S-class asteroid about 13 x 13 x 33 km in size. Studies will be made of the asteroid's size,
shape, mass, magnetic field, composition, and surface and internal structure. Periapsis of the orbit will be as
low as 24 km above the surface of the asteroid. Prior to its encounter with Eros NEAR flew within 1200 km
of the C-class asteroid 253 Mathilde on 27 June 1997. It then flew by the Earth on 23 January 1998. The
spacecraft has the shape of an octagonal prism, approximately 1.7 m on a side, with four solar panels and a
fixed 1.5 m X-band high-gain radio antenna.
Preliminary (unvalidated) NEAR data sets can be found at the PDS Small Bodies Node Archive.
Detailed NEAR Spacecraft and Mission Information
Multispectral Imager (MSI)
Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIS)
X-ray / Gamma-ray Spectrometer (XRS-GRS)
Magnetometer (MAG)
Laser Rangefinder (NLR)
Radio Science (RS) and Gravimetry
NEAR Eros Descent Images
Images of Eros from orbit
Images of Eros from the approach
Science results from Eros
Images of Mathilde
Movie of the Mathilde Flyby
On Friday, 27 June 1997 at 8:56 AM EDT NEAR flew within 1200 km of the C-class main-belt asteroid 253
Mathilde. The fly-by took place at 9.93 km/sec and included high-resolution (180 m/pixel) and color (seven
filter) imaging. The images will be used to study the size, shape, surface features, colors and to search for any
small moons of Mathilde.
Results from the Flyby of 253 Mathilde
Size estimated to be about 66 x 48 x 46 km
Volume estimated at 78,000 cubic km (within ~15%)
17
Mass estimated at 10 kg (within ~3%)
3
Density estimated at 1.34 gram/cm
Five craters found over 20 km across
Largest crater 30 km wide, 6 km deep
2 of 4 3/20/2006 8:01 PM
NEAR Information http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/near.html
No satellites found
Images taken during the Earth flyby
Press Release on Earth Swingby - 23 January 1998
8 February 1999 NASA Press Release on the first Eros flyby.
Images of Eros from the first flyby - 23 December 1998
Press release on the NEAR Eros rendezvous - 8 February 2000
Information on the NEAR Mathilde Flyby
Information on the NEAR Eros Flyby
Information on the NEAR Mission Trajectory
Summary Information on NEAR Instruments
Information on Comet Hyakutake
NASA's Discovery Program
Pre-encounter background on 253 Mathilde
Pre-encounter background on 433 Eros
NEAR project home page - Applied Physics Lab, JHU
NEAR Mathilde encounter - Applied Physics Lab, JHU
NEAR MSI-NIS instrument information - Cornell University
NEAR XGRS instrument information - NASA/Goddard
NEAR Orbital Elements - Cornell University
NEAR Press Kit (ftp directory) - NASA Headquarters
Low-cost innovation in spaceflight - The NEAR Shoemaker mission (3.3 Mb PDF)
Images
Images of Eros
Images from the Earth Flyby
Images from the Eros and Mathilde Flybys
Movie of the Mathilde Flyby
More Mathilde Images
Gamma-Ray Spectrometer measurements on the surface of Eros
Press Releases
The End of an Asteroidal Adventure NEAR Shoemaker Phones Home for the Last Time - 28 February
2001
NEAR Shoemaker Makes Historic Touchdown on Asteroid Eros - 12 February 2001
NEAR Mission Completes Main Task, Now Will Go Where No Spacecraft Has Gone Before - 31 January
2001
Briefings and Live Feed Set for First Asteroid Touchdown - 25 January 2001
NEAR Shoemaker Observations Link Eros to Primordial Solar System - 30 May 2000
Mission was renamed NEAR Shoemaker in honor of Gene Shoemaker - 14 March 2000
NEAR poised for Valentine's Day Asteroid Encounter - 8 February 2000
3 of 4 3/20/2006 8:01 PM
NEAR Information http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/near.html
NEAR spacecraft reveals major features of Eros - 8 February 1999
NEAR spacecraft set for January 3 burn - 30 December 1998
Burn Abort and new Eros encounter plan - 22 December 1998
Briefing on upcoming Eros Encounter - 11 December 1998
NEAR Completes Earth Swingby - 23 January 1998
NEAR Earth Flyby and Sunglints - 15 January 1998
Gamma Ray Bursts observed by NEAR - 29 September 1997
Asteroid Mathilde reveals her dark past - 30 June 1997
NEAR observations of Comet Hyakutake planned for 24 March 1996 - March 1996
Detailed information on NEAR from the NSSDC Master Catalog
Asteroid Fact Sheet
NSSDC Asteroid Home Page
Other NASA planetary missions
NSSDC Planetary Home Page
Author/Curator:
Dr. David R. Williams, [email protected]
NSSDC, Mail Code 690.1
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
[phone]
NASA Official: Ed Grayzeck, [email protected]
Last Updated: 13 April 2005, DRW
4 of 4 3/20/2006 8:01 PM