How to
Colonize an Asteroid
How to
Colonize an Asteroid
N.E.A.R. Stands for Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
On
February 14, 2000, NEAR became the first probe to actually go into an orbit
around an asteroid. Almost a year later, on February 12, 2001, NEAR became
the first craft to land on an asteroid.
NEAR's primary mission was to photograph and study the composition of the
asteroid 433 Eros. The image at the left is the first
image ever taken of an asteroid while in orbit, courtesy of NASA. Click on the
image for a larger version. When the primary mission was done, there was still
fuel left onboard the spacecraft. Some of the images returned by NEAR showed
some features on the surface of the asteroid which scientists could not understand,
so they decided to attempt a landing. The NEAR probe was never designed to land,
but the asteroid has very low gravity, and they thought that it might be possible
if they brought it down slow enough. They initially set the odds of survival
at less than 1 percent, but the craft made it through with flying colors. 
The last picture (see at right - click to enlarge) was taken
from 394 feet (120 meters). The streaks on the bottom are due to loss of signal
as the craft touched down and communication with the main high gain antenna
was lost. Engineers managed to reestablish contact via the low gain antenna,
and were able to receive spectral data for almost 2 more weeks.
Instruments aboard the NEAR probe included an X-ray/Gamma ray spectrometer, a near infra-red imaging spectrograph, a multispectral CCD Imager, a laser altimeter, and a magnetometer. The NEAR probe is approximately 1.7 meters square and weighs about 805kg on orbit. Power is supplied by four solar panels, which produce a total of about 1800 watts of electrical power.
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