Asteroid 433 Eros as imaged by NEAR. Photo: JHU/APL

This mosaic of two images, showing a cratered region of Eros located at the elongated end of the asteroid, was taken at a resolution of about 21 meters per pixel.

A few of the craters show brightness (albedo) patterns on their walls, where the top portion of the walls are brighter than the surrounding terrain. The floor and lower portion of the walls of these craters have patches that appear darker than the surrounding terrain. A few boulders are also visible in this region. Some shallow, subdued troughs can also be seen trending vertically down the lower part of the asteroid.

Built and managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, NEAR was the first spacecraft launched in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, small-scale planetary missions.