NEAR enters orbit around Eros
Date in UTC
NEAR entered Eros orbit at 15:33 UT, beginning sustained close-range observations. First spacecraft to orbit an asteroid. The spacecraft received the name NEAR Shoemaker later in 2000.
Historical significance
First spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
- Category
- Mission Operations and Milestones
- Type
- Orbit insertion
- Mission
- NEAR Shoemaker
- Programme
- Discovery
- Organization
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Destination
- asteroid
- Target body
- Eros
- Country
- US
Sources and attribution
- NASA — NEAR Shoemaker (opens in a new tab) — Original factual summary; retain attribution to NASA.