|
|
Browse All
:
NEAR Shoemaker of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
|
Printer Friendly |
Flying Over Asteroid Eros
| Title |
Flying Over Asteroid Eros |
| Explanation |
What would it look like to fly over an asteroid? Spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Voyage/ ] in orbit around asteroid 433 Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/eros/sum.html ] found out earlier this month when it recorded its first fly-over sequence. The saddle region [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000214.html ] of the Sun-orbiting space-mountain appears to zip past the camera in this condensed hour-long time-lapse sequence [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000323/ ]. The spacecraft was orbiting about 200 kilometers above the asteroid [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/asteroids.html ]. Movies such as this are scientifically useful [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991108.html ] for discerning between regions that are naturally dark and regions that have their brightness dominated by shadows. The week before, a bright X-ray burst [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000327.html http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1999A%26A...347..684G ] from the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981221.html ] allowed NEAR's X-ray spectrometer [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/instruments/ ] to detect [ http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/000313.htm ] the presence of several elements [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/ ] on Eros' surface by their X-ray fluorescent [ http://www.scimedia.com/chem-ed/spec/atomic/afs.htm ] signatures. |
|
Flying Over Asteroid Eros' W
…
| Title |
Flying Over Asteroid Eros' West End |
| Explanation |
The robot spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker continues to orbit asteroid Eros. This condensed 40-minute long time-lapse sequence [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000324/ ] taken last month shows what it looks like to pass within 200 kilometers of Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/sum.html ]' west end. The north pole of the rotating mountain [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000327.html ] is toward the bottom of the picture. This month NEAR-Shoemaker closes [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/flash/000402.html ] to within 100 kilometers, and by the end of this month will orbit only 50 kilometers from the center of this 33-kilometer long asteroid [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/asteroids.html ]. One reason for moving in so close is to determine if 433 Eros has a magnetic field [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/sci_updates/000407.html ]. NEAR Shoemaker, launched in 1996, is run [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/intro/faq.html ] by a computer similar to a PC released 15 years ago (12 MHz, 256K). |
|
Eros Craters And Boulders
| Title |
Eros Craters And Boulders |
| Explanation |
From a delicate [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/sci_updates/ 000505.html ] orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft's camera has now imaged the entire surface of the small [ http://pdssbn.astro.umd.edu:80/sbnhtml/ ] oddly-shaped [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000224.html ] world at least once. Recorded on July 7th from a distance of 50 kilometers, this dramatic view [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000718/index.html ] is about 1.8 kilometers across. It shows the walls and rims of two large overlapping impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] craters on the horizon. Massive boulders which may be debris from the impacts are perched along the crater edges. The prominent boulder [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970905.html ] on the horizon near picture center is about 40 meters long. In fact, the NEAR mission to Eros [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~cchapman/finderos.html ] has shown that along with craters and boulders, grooves and ridges are also [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/9_11_98_phobos_rel/ index.html ] common on the asteroid's [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/ asteroidpage.html ] surface. While the craters are clearly of impact origin, puzzles about [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/sci_updates/ 00jul19.html ] the other surface features still remain. On July 13, controllers fired the spacecraft thrusters and moved NEAR Shoemaker [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/flash/00jul14_1.html ] to an even closer [ http://huey.jpl.nasa.gov/~spravdo/neat.html ] 35 kilometer orbit to enable higher resolution surface studies. |
|
22 Miles From Eros
| Title |
22 Miles From Eros |
| Explanation |
Last month the NEAR Shoemaker [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Education/model.html ] spacecraft swooped closer [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/flash/00jul07_1.html ] to Eros, orbiting only 22 miles (36 kilometers) from [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980919.html ] the center of the asteroid. These two images taken on July 19 (left) [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000801/index.html ] and July 24 (right) [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000731/index.html ] reveal the diminutive world's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000224.html ] pocked and mottled surface in amazing detail, showing features as small as 19 feet (6 meters) across. Eros is thought to be a primordial [ http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/000530.htm ], undifferentiated asteroid [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/ asteroids.html ] based on X-ray and gamma-ray [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/sci_updates/00jun20.html ] studies of its surface composition. In the left picture, its surface layer or regolith [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/sci_updates/00jul05.html ] is seen to be laced with bright and dark regions while in the right hand image dark regolith appears [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000707/index.html ] to have filled in some crater floors. The left and right images span an area about 2,600 feet (800 meters) and 3,000 ft (900 meters) wide respectively. On July 31, NEAR Shoemaker returned to [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/flash/00aug01_1.html ] its familiar 31 mile (50 kilometer) orbit, circling [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/orbits.htm#orbits ] Eros serenely at about 6 miles per hour. |
|
Eros At Sunset
| Title |
Eros At Sunset |
| Explanation |
Gleaming in the rays of the setting sun, boulders litter the rugged surface of asteroid 433 Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/ ]. The brightest boulder, at the edge of the large, shadowy crater near this picture's bottom center, is about 30 meters (100 feet) across. In orbit around Eros since February 2000, the NEAR Shoemaker [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/ ] spacecraft's camera recorded the dramatic view [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000821/index.html ] earlier this month from an altitude of about 50 kilometers. Eros itself orbits [ http://www.fwkc.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/o/ o018000416f.html ] the Sun with a perihelion [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ dictionary.html#perihelion ] of 1.13 Astronomical Units [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/ answers/980122b.html ] (AU) and aphelion [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ dictionary.html#aphelion ] of 1.78 AU. Part of a class of near-Earth asteroids [ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo.html ], it spends much of its time between the orbits of Mars (at 1.5 AU) and Earth (at 1 AU) ... but it wasn't always that way. Eros and other near-Earth asteroids [ http://neo.planetary.org/ABCsOfNEOs/index.html ] originally orbited in the main asteroid belt [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/ asteroids.html ], between Jupiter [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter.html ] and Mars [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/ marsfact.html ]. Over time, the gravitational influence of Jupiter and other planets perturbed their orbits sending them on trajectories closer [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000226.html ] to Earth. |
|
The Map Of Eros
| Title |
The Map Of Eros |
| Explanation |
This map [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20001024a/index.html ] of Eros was constructed from a mosaic of images recorded by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft, currently orbiting the 40 x 14 x 14 kilometer asteroid. A simple cylindrical projection [ http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/mapproj/ mapproj.html ] of an irregularly shaped world [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000214b/index.html ], the map's individual images don't always match up at the edges. Shown here, place names have been proposed [ http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/Space/nomen/ nomen.html ] to describe the geography of Eros [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000224.html ] with a fitting theme, though. They are based on romantic figures in the history and literature of the cultures of planet Earth. The largest feature, Himeros [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20001025/index.html ], is a depression about 10 kilometers wide. In Greek mythology [ http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/areas/greek/ ], Himeros was an attendant of Eros and the personification of the longing of love. Today, after safely surveying Eros [ http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/001024.htm ] for the past eight months, NEAR Shoemaker is scheduled to make a daring close approach [ http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/001023.htm ] to the asteroid, briefly flying to within about 6 kilometers of its surface. Images returned [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/ ] from that distance are expected to show features less than 1 meter across. |
|
Close To Eros
| Title |
Close To Eros |
| Explanation |
Scroll right and fly close over asteroid [ http://www.edunet.ie/stlaur/asteroid.html ] Eros! This long mosaic [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20001026d/ ] was constructed of images returned yesterday by the NEAR [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/ ] Shoemaker spacecraft as it orbited to within 6.4 kilometers of a spot in the southern hemisphere of the rotating asteroid's surface. That distance (about 21,000 feet) is less than the cruising altitude of most commercial airline flights. The digital images show that while many regions appear smooth with craters filled in by an accumulation of loose regolith [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000829.html ], much of Eros' surface is littered with rocks and boulders. The large boulder [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20001026c/ ] glinting in the sunlight at the far left, just above the center of the mosaic, spans approximately 25 meters. In the high-resolution view, the smallest rocks [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20001026b/ ] visible are roughly human-sized at about 1.4 meters (5 feet) across. The car-sized [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/old/Education/model.html ] Near Shoemaker spacecraft is now on its way [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/flash/00oct26_2.html ] to a higher, more stable orbit about 200 kilometers above asteroid Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/sum.html ]. |
|
Stereo Eros
| Title |
Stereo Eros |
| Explanation |
Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses ] and float next to asteroid 433 Eros [ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db?name=433 ], now over 220 million kilometers away! Orbiting the Sun once every 1.8 earth-years, asteroid Eros is [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/history/eros_useful.html ] a diminutive 40 x 14 x 14 kilometer world of undulating horizons, craters, boulders [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000721.html ] and valleys. Its unsettling scale and bizarre shape are emphasized in this picture [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02471 ] - a mosaic of images from the NEAR Shoemaker [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/target/ Other?subselect=Spacecraft%3ANEAR+Shoemaker%3A ] spacecraft processed to yield a stereo anaglyphic [ http://faxmentis.org/html/ana-howto.html ] view. Along with dramatic [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro#Gallery ] chiaroscuro [ http://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/s-chiaro.html ], NEAR's 3-D imaging provided important measurements of the asteroid's landforms and structures, and clues to the origin of this city-sized chunk of solar system [ http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. The smallest features visible here are about 30 meters across. After spending a year in orbit around Eros, the historic Near Shoemaker spacecraft made the first ever landing on an asteroid's surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010824.html ] February 12, 2001. |
|
Survivor: NEAR Shoemaker On
…
| Title |
Survivor: NEAR Shoemaker On Asteroid Eros |
| Explanation |
Not part of a television game series, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft survived [ http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/010228.htm ] its unprecedented landing on an asteroid [ http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html ] last month. As suggested in the illustration inset above [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20010209/index.html ], the car-sized probe likely rests gently on the tips of its solar panels having touched down under the influence of asteroid Eros' feeble gravity. Fortunately, the spacecraft's solar panels were bathed in sunlight and able to power NEAR's gamma-ray spectrometer [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/instruments/ XGRS/index.html ]. Perched on the asteroid, this instrument can determine the composition of Eros to a depth of about 10 centimeters with unanticipated accuracy by measuring the gamma-ray signatures [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast27feb_2.htm ] of the atomic nuclei present. The data returned [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20010301/ ] from the surface of Eros are plotted above and show clearly features corresponding to Iron, Oxygen, Silicon, and Potassium in the asteroid's regolith [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000829.html ]. Also briefly operating on Eros, NEAR's magnetometer [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/instruments/MAG/index.html ] has indicated that no surface magnetic field [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wmfield.html ] is discernible. Now turned off [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Reports/WeeklyStatus/ 2001-03-02.txt ], NEAR Shoemaker could remain preserved in its present location, the vicinity of the huge, saddle-shaped feature dubbed Himeros [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001026.html ], for billions of years. But, as the asteroid orbits [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ ast21jun_1_ada.htm ], the spacecraft's solar panels will be repeatedly turned toward the Sun ... offering the possibility of reawakening this survivor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010213.html ]. |
|
Stereo Eros
| Title |
Stereo Eros |
| Explanation |
Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] and float next to asteroid 433 Eros [ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db?name=433 ], 170 million kilometers away! Orbiting the Sun once every 1.8 earth-years, asteroid Eros is [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/history/eros_useful.html ] a diminutive 40 x 14 x 14 kilometer world of undulating horizons, craters, boulders [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000721.html ] and valleys. Its unsettling scale and bizarre shape are emphasized in this picture [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000218/index.html ] - a mosaic of images from the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/flash/02dec12_1.html ] processed to yield a stereo anaglyphic [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/3_d.html ] view. Along with dramatic [ http://www.artofcolour.com/chiaroscuro/chiaroscuro-image-files/ st-matthew.jpg ] chiaroscuro [ http://www2.evansville.edu/studiochalkboard/ s-chiaro.html ], NEAR's 3-D imaging provided important measurements of the asteroid's landforms and structures, and clues to the origin [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Voyage/1.html ] of this city-sized chunk of solar system [ http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. The smallest features visible here are about 30 meters across. After spending a year in orbit around Eros, the historic Near Shoemaker spacecraft made the first ever landing on an asteroid's surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010824.html ] February 12, 2001. |
|
|
