Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous

In February 2000, asteroid studies took a remarkable jump forward when the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR)-Shoemaker spacecraft, first of NASA s Discovery series of relatively low-cost space probes, went into orbit around the asteroid 433 Eros, an S-class asteroid about 8 X 8 X 21 mi (13 X 13 X 33 km) in size. NEAR-Shoemaker, the first spacecraft ever to orbit an asteroid, had already flown by the C-class, main-belt asteroid 253 Mathilde in 1997, taking high-resolution... 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NEAR Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. Fehmary 18, 2002 [cited November 23, 2002]. . 

For example, an Nd YAG laser was used by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft in 2000 to map the surface of the asteroid Eros. Light beams sent out by the laser measured with a high degree of accuracy the elevation of various parts of the asteroid, providing one of the best topographical maps of an asteroid surface ever obtained. 

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft used an NeLYAG laser. AP Images. 

Meanwhile, a vortex suppressor is meant to reduce vortices at the tank outlet that appear during high mass flows. This allows the system to operate well under higher flow rates. The development of a vortex suppressor was needed for the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) oxidizer tank as shown in Figure 2.7 (Tam et al., 1995). 

NEAR Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission... 

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