The landing of the NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft on asteroid 433 Eros

被引:180
作者
Veverka, J
Farquhar, B
Robinson, M
Thomas, P
Murchie, S
Harch, A
Antreasian, PG
Chesley, SR
Miller, JK
Owen, WM
Williams, BG
Yeomans, D
Dunham, D
Heyler, G
Holdridge, M
Nelson, RL
Whittenburg, KE
Ray, JC
Carcich, B
Cheng, A
Chapmank, C
Bell, JF
Bell, M
Bussey, B
Clark, B
Domingue, D
Gaffey, MJ
Hawkins, E
Izenberg, N
Joseph, J
Kirk, R
Lucey, P
Malin, M
McFadden, L
Merline, WJ
Peterson, C
Prockter, L
Warren, J
Wellnitz, D
机构
[1] Cornell Univ, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
[2] Johns Hopkins Univ, Appl Phys Lab, Laurel, MD 20723 USA
[3] Northwestern Univ, Dept Geol Sci, Evanston, IL 60208 USA
[4] CALTECH, Jet Prop Lab, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
[5] SW Res Inst, Boulder, CO 80302 USA
[6] Rensselaer Polytech Inst, Ctr Sci, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Troy, NY 12180 USA
[7] US Geol Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 USA
[8] Univ Hawaii, Hawaii Inst Geophys & Planetol, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
[9] Malin Space Sci Syst Inc, San Diego, CA 92191 USA
[10] Univ Maryland, Dept Astron, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1038/35096507
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
The NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft was designed to provide a comprehensive characterization of the S-type asteroid 433 Eros (refs 1-3), an irregularly shaped body with approximate dimensions of 34x13x13 km. Following the completion of its yearlong investigation, the mission was terminated with a controlled descent to its surface, in order to provide extremely high resolution images. Here we report the results of the descent on 12 February 2001, during which 70 images were obtained. The landing area is marked by a paucity of small craters and an abundance of 'ejecta blocks'. The properties and distribution of ejecta blocks are discussed in a companion paper(4). The last sequence of images reveals a transition from the blocky surface to a smooth area, which we interpret as a 'pond'. Properties of the 'ponds' are discussed in a second companion paper(5). The closest image, from an altitude of 129 m, shows the interior of a 100-m-diameter crater at 1-cm resolution.
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页码:390 / 393
页数:4
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