Space probe gets up close and personal with asteroid JHU/APL PHOTO RELEASE Posted: April 19, 2000
In this image, taken April 17, 2000, from a height of 101 kilometers (63 miles), the shadows highlight small-scale surface features. The surface is pockmarked with craters ranging in size up to the 2.8-kilometer (1.74-mile) diameter crater in the center of the image. The smallest craters which can be resolved are about 20 meters (65 feet) across. In lower right corner of the image, 20-meter boulders can be seen that were not evident in images from higher altitudes. Built and managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, NEAR-Shoemaker was the first spacecraft launched in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, small-scale planetary missions. |
Earlier coverage Back in the asteroid saddle again The impact of sun at high noon NEAR Shoemaker moves even closer to asteroid Eros Asteroid's aging craters NEAR Shoemaker shows the importance of lighting NEAR Shoemaker moves in for better look at Eros Eros at sunset NewsAlert Sign up for Astronomy Now's NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed directly to your desktop (free of charge). |
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