← ALL LANDERS
LANDING SITEEros surface (Himeros saddle)
LAT-35.00°
LON-279.00°
ASTEROID
Feb 12, 2001
LANDING DATE
2001
16 days on surface (1 year orbiting)
MISSION DURATION
TOTAL
-150 to 100 C (Eros surface)
SURFACE TEMP
AT LANDING SITE
487
KG
MASS
6
INSTRUMENTS
SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD
NEAR Shoemaker is a lander mission by NASA / APL on Asteroid. Landed February 12, 2001. Landing site: Eros surface (Himeros saddle).
ABOUT NEAR SHOEMAKER
NEAR Shoemaker became the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid and the first to land on one. After spending a year orbiting asteroid 433 Eros, studying its composition, gravity, and morphology, mission controllers decided to attempt a controlled descent to the surface — despite the spacecraft never being designed to land. Touching down at just 1.5 m/s on February 12, 2001, NEAR Shoemaker survived intact and continued to transmit gamma-ray spectrometer data from the surface for 16 additional days.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Eros is a primordial remnant of solar system formation
- Surface covered in thick regolith with boulders
- Eros has uniform composition suggesting it never melted
- Gamma-ray data from surface revealed elemental abundance
- Closest-ever images of an asteroid surface
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- First spacecraft to orbit an asteroid
- First spacecraft to land on an asteroid (unplanned)
- Survived landing at 1.5 m/s despite not being designed to land
- Operated on surface for 16 days after touchdown
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (6)
MSI (Multi-Spectral Imager)
NIS (Near-Infrared Spectrograph)
MAG (Magnetometer)
XRS (X-ray/Gamma-Ray Spectrometer)
NLR (NEAR Laser Rangefinder)
RSS (Radio Science)
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Mass487 kg (1,074 lbs)
PowerSolar panels (4 GaAs panels)
CommunicationsX-band, 1.5m high-gain antenna
Design LifeNot designed to land (bonus science)
Landing DateFebruary 12, 2001
Mission EndFebruary 28, 2001
ProgramDiscovery
SURFACE DATA
Surface Temperature-150 to 100 C (Eros surface)
🚀 LAUNCH MISSION