NEAR
The APL-built and operated NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft was launched in 1996 and traveled more than two billion miles before being placed in orbit around the asteroid Eros in February 2000. It circled the asteroid for a year, dipping at times to within three miles (5.3 kilometers) of the potato shaped asteroid’s ends and returning more than 10 times the data expected over the program’s lifetime. The mission concluded with a soft landing on the asteroid Eros. The spacecraft provided valuable information from the asteroid’s surface for two weeks after touchdown. Please Click here to learn more about the NEAR mission.
