Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Shomaker
An artist's conception of the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft orbiting Eros. (Credit: NASA)
Lifetime: February 1996 - February 2001
Country (primary): United States
Primary Science
The primary science goals of the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Shomaker mission, called NEAR Shoemaker for short, were to study the near-Earth asteroid Eros from orbit for a year. In addition, NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros, returning the highest resolution pictures of an asteroid's surface.
High Energy Science
One of the five instruments on the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft was the X-ray/gamma-ray spectrometer. It was designed primarily for determining the surface/near-surface elemental composition of Eros, but were also used to make measurements of the diffuse X-ray and gamma-ray background during the cruise phase of the mission.
Science Highlights
- Detected gamma-ray bursts and provided localization information as part of the Interplanetary network