Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | 666 words | Copyright

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) The first of the NASA Discovery missions, launched on 17 February 1996. The spacecraft was equipped with an X-ray/gamma ray spectrometer, near-infrared imaging spectrograph, multispectral camera with CCD (see CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICE) imaging detector, laser altimeter, and magnetometer. A radio science experiment was also performed to estimate the gravity field of Eros. On 27 June 1997, the NEAR spacecraft approached to within 1200 km of Mathilde. The spacecraft reached and achieved orbit around Eros, returning large amounts of data, and at the end of its mission was deliberately crashed to the surface, returning more data.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-NearEarthAsteroidRendezvs.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-NearEarthAsteroidRendezvs.html

Learn more about citation styles