NEAR Shoemaker
LocationAsteroid surface
Year1996
SizeSolar powered
TypePlanetary probe
About NEAR Shoemaker
The first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid. Launched in 1996 and reached asteroid Eros in 2000. Orbited Eros for a year, mapping its surface. Landed on Eros in February 2001, though it was not designed to land. Named after planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker.
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