NASA orbiter backs off asteroid Eros

NEAR-Shoemaker snapped this picture of several horizons on Eros from a distance of 24 miles (38 km)

By Richard Stenger
CNN.com Writer

(CNN) -- A NASA spacecraft shifted into higher orbit around the asteroid Eros this week, after spending five months moving steadily closer to the space rock.

The NEAR-Shoemaker had circled the center of the potato-shaped rock from a distance of 22 miles (35 km) for ten days, studying its chemical composition and taking close- up pictures.

But controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory directed the craft to maneuver to an orbit of 31 miles (50 km).

The new distance will allow the NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) team to gather additional data and global images of Eros, in particular of the southern pole, which remained shrouded in seasonal darkness during the first months of the mission.

NEAR-Shoemaker began a yearlong study of the Manhattan-sized asteroid on February 14. The probe will perform more low- altitude maneuvers in the future, perhaps even briefly touching the surface, according to NASA scientists.

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Stargazing

The $224 million NEAR mission was launched in 1996. The craft was to begin orbiting Eros in 1999, but it malfunctioned en route and sped past the asteroid, briefly lost contact with Earth and burned about 20 percent of its fuel.

Engineers managed to regain control when the craft had about ten minutes of electrical power left.

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NASA
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission

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