Asteroids and Spacecraft Rendezvous
May 20th 2011 13:06
Category: Space Probes
NEAR Shoemaker spaceprobe image of asteroid Eros : NASA image
Space probes have become the backbone of frontier research.
There close encounters with distant icy visitors have provided a greater understanding of how these objects look and behave. Comets and asteroids have especially interesting objects to study. Since we first got our first close up look at comet Halley. The images it provided we actually could see the “ icy heart” of the comet.
Image of Comet Hartley 2 taken a flyby on November 4, 2010 by the NEAR Shoemakerspacecraft.
In the last decade or so a number of more sophisticated operational space probes have been launched. In part due to NASA new design and technological advancement strategies. NASA is a bit more savvy in the way the space probes are used. More missions are being covered by just one spacecraft.
A mission to Pluto is on its way NASA's New Horizons spacecraft should reach Pluto in 2015.
As yet no space probe has been to Pluto. New Horizons has already provided specialized information on Jupiter and its moons.
Images include the first close-up scans of the Little Red Spot, Jupiter's second-largest storm, which formed when three smaller storms merged over a period of ten years.
In 2000 spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker craft went into orbit around the 21-mile long asteroid Eros. NEAR Shoemaker was the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
The probe conducted numerous studies of the asteroid and captured full motion images of the asteroid’s rotation, including close up images of the asteroid’s surface features. The detailed images show a depression named Himeros. The image animation sequence includes a view of a large boulder clef beside Himeros. NEAR Shoemaker probe maneuvered over to the opposite end of Eros providing a spectacular view of a sunset inside Psyche, the asteroids large, 5-kilometer impact crater.
NEAR Shoemaker craft managed to landed on the asteroid a somewhat tricky proposition taking into consideration the amount of fuel left onboard the probe. The mission had officially ended.
A decision was made to attempt a hard landing on the asteroid, the landing was successful many close up images during the probe’s decent. The probe continued to communicate until extreme low temperatures caused the probe to become silent.
As far as we know the NEAR Shoemaker space probe is still on the asteroid’s surface.
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