Nose-to-Nose with an Asteroid

By Michael.Buckley - Johns Hopkins University News

The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft made history once again on Jan. 28 when it brushed over the "toe" end of Eros, less than two miles (2.74 kilometers) from its surface, at 5:41 a.m. EST (ground receive time). The daring pass - the closest any spacecraft has come to an asteroid -marked the conclusion of a 4-day series of low-altitude flyovers that is returning extraordinarily detailed images of the asteroid's surface.

The low pass sequence ended yesterday at 1:22 p.m. EST (ground receive time), when a 3.8-second burst from the spacecraft's 5-pound thrusters pulled it away from its breathtaking vantage point, and back toward an orbit 22 miles (35 kilometers) above the asteroid. There it will remain circling Eros until a maneuver on Feb. 12 pulls the spacecraft out of orbit and into position for its descent to the asteroid. Several more engine burns will slow NEAR Shoemaker's descent, allowing it to settle on to the asteroid's surface at about 3 p.m. EST.

View today's image at: http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20010129/