NEAR Shoemaker Spacecraft’s Historic First Landing On Eros Asteroid

Graphic depicting NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker spacecraft orbital descent path to the earth's first historic landing on the Eros asteroid at about 3:02 p.m. EST, February 12, 2001, 196 million miles from Earth. Image courtesy Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, (JHU-APL) Laurel, Maryland.

February 12, 2001 Laurel, Maryland - Scientists at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory broke out the champagne to celebrate today when the clock ticked 3:02:10 p.m. EST and the last picture was taken by NASA's NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft as it lowered at 4 mph for the first historic landing of an Earth vehicle on the asteroid Eros 196 million miles away. Touchdown was in the yellow circle below on the edge of the asteroid's saddle-shaped feature named Himeros.

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