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Discovery Station at Hagerstown and The Johns Hopkins University's
Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) present the first year-round
continuing exhibit of a 1/4 scale model of the NEAR Shoemaker
spacecraft.
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft was launched
on February 17,1996 from Cape Canaveral, FL and was programmed
to rendezvous with asteroid 433 Eros on February 14, 2000.
NEAR was to orbit Eros for a year, conducting scientific studies.
As the first mission launched in the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's (NASA) Discovery Program, the NEAR
mission set the stage for asteroidal exploration and formed
a base of knowledge that will be the framework for future
missions.
The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft was designed and built by The
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which
managed the mission for NASA. The NEAR mission was the first
comprehensive study of the physical geology, composition and
geophysics of an asteroid. The mission had three main scientific
goals:
• Determine the physical
and geological properties of a near- Earth
asteroid (NEA);
• Clarify relationships
between asteroids, comets and meteorites;
• Further our understanding
of how and under what conditions the
planets formed and evolved.
NEAR Shoemaker was the first solar-powered spacecraft to
fly beyond the orbit of Mars – a technical innovation
in spacecraft design. It had the capacity to operate as
far as 203 million miles from the Sun.
NEAR was not initially designed to land. The chances were
believed to be less than 1%. Despite the odds, on February
12, 2001, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touched down on the
433 Eros asteroid and began sending data from the surface
of Eros. It has returned 10 times more data than originally
planned.
The Discovery Station spacecraft exhibition includes additional
materials and interactive exhibits about space and weather.
For more information on the NEAR mission, visit the NEAR Web
site: http://near.jhuapl.edu.
Download a free model of the NEAR spacecraft at: http://near.jhuapl.edu/Education/model.html.
Now showing in the NASA Exhibit Viewing Area: "Passport
to Pluto," depicting the epic adventure of the New
Horizons plutonium-powered spacecraft, now on a 10-year,
3 billion mile journey into deep space and the outer
edges of the solar system.
Also showing in the 2nd floor Space and Science Viewing
Room: "The Hubble Telescope" with dramatic pictures
and revelations of space discoveries from the Hubble Space
Telescope. Other fascinating space and science adventures
are available for showing on request.
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