At 1:40 p.m. EDT on Oct. 26, the three-minute engine burn lifted the spacecraft from a low-altitude orbit -- during which NEAR Shoemaker buzzed a mere three miles (5.3 kilometers) over one of Eros' ends -- toward a more stable position 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the center of the asteroid. The burn was the longest since NEAR Shoemaker began orbiting Eros eight months ago.

"Had we stayed there, the low orbit could have brought the spacecraft dangerously close to the asteroid," says Dr. Robert Farquhar, NEAR mission director. "When you make a close pass like that the gravity field affects the spacecraft a lot more than it would otherwise, so we helped it along with a maneuver."

Meanwhile, the NEAR team has just started to sift through the close-ups NEAR Shoemaker's digital camera snapped during the flyover.

"We've never seen the surface of an asteroid or planetary satellite at this high resolution without actually landing," says Dr. Scott Murchie, NEAR imaging team member. "What strikes me most about the pictures is the diversity in the sizes and shapes of the rocks. When we analyze these high-resolution images in more detail, we'll learn something about the processes that have shaped the surface of Eros."

Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links NEAR Mission Center SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com Memory Foam Mattress Review SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News EROSDAILY Eros Space Science Begins To Take Shape Cameron Park - August 20, 2001 The "NEAR" spacecraft has just completed a highly successful mission providing us with our first prolonged and close up view of an asteroid.