14 years since the first soft landing on an asteroid earth apparatus

14 years have passed since the first soft landing on an asteroid earth apparatus. February 14, 2001 at near-Earth asteroid Eros sat spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker . A year earlier, 14 February 2000, the unit went into orbit Eros, where he made the first images and data collected on the surface.





Eros - the first open-Earth asteroid. It found astronomer Carl Witt in 1898. In the distant future, as considered in 1996 scientists may clash with the Earth Eros . The first artificial satellite of the asteroid became apparatus NEAR Spacecraft.



The casing was shaped like a prism, to install solar panels on top. The upper base of the prism - antenna diameter of 1, 5 meters. The total mass of fuel - 805 kg without fuel - 487 kg. For research he used multispectral camera, infrared spectrometer, a laser altimeter, gamma ray spectrometer, magnetometer and radioostsilyator.



February 17, 1996 launched the spacecraft NEAR, he headed toward the asteroid Mathilde. Journey took 16 months. In 1997, the unit flew a distance of 1200 km from the asteroid, making hundred shots.



February 14, 2000 NEAR Shoemaker went into orbit of Eros with a period of 27, 6 days, where he spent the next year. Then he made the first images of the asteroid and collected data on its surface and geology. Below - the first picture after reaching orbit.





February 14, 2001 came news of a successful soft landing spacecraft on the surface of the asteroid. Planting took place in 15:01:52, completing the path of the machine 3, 2 billion kilometers. Vertical velocity was less than four miles per hour.



NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft was originally the name of Spacecraft, was later named in honor of the deceased in a car crash in 1997, American geologist Eugene Shoemaker . He founded a new direction in science - astrogeology. The remains of the scientist were buried on the moon, in the "Shoemaker crater».





Source: geektimes.ru/post/245868/