Asteroid Rendezvous: NEAR Shoemaker's Adventures at Eros

by Jim Bell (editor), Jacqueline Mitton (editor)

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) was the first mission to orbit and eventually land on an asteroid. A phenomenal success, the mission returned with hundreds of thousands of images, spectra, and other measurements about the large near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros. Some of the scientists and engineers who made NEAR such a success describe the mission here in their own words, from the initial concept studies, through the development phase, launch, cruise operations, the flyby of asteroid Mathilde, the near-catastrophic main engine failure in 1998, the heroic rescue and recovery of the spacecraft, the amazing year-long up-close look at one of Earth's most primitive celestial neighbors, and, finally, the daring attempt to land the spacecraft on Eros at the end of the mission. The book is illustrated throughout with images from the mission and explanatory diagrams. Jim Bell is an Assistant Professor in the Cornell University Astronomy Department whose research focuses on the geology, chemistry, and mineralogy of planets, asteroids, and comets using data obtained from telescopes and spacecraft missions. He is a member of a number of space science teams, including the NASA Mars Pathfinder and NEAR. Author of some 70 first and co-authored journal publications, he is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy magazines and radio shows. The International Astronomical Union recently awarded him the honor of having asteroid 8146 Jimbell named after him. Jacqueline Mitton is the Press Officer and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a member of the International Astronomical Union, and a Member of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. She is the author or co-author of 16 astronomy books; her most recent being The Cambridge Dictionary of Astronomy (2001).

Genres: Space

130 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2002

About the author

James (Jim) F. Bell III (born July 23, 1965) is a Professor of Astronomy at Arizona State University, specializing in the study of planetary geology, geochemistry and mineralogy using data obtained from telescopes and from various spacecraft missions.
Dr. Bell's active research has involved the NASA Mars Pathfinder, Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR), 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Mars Science Laboratory missions. His book Postcards from Mars includes many images taken by the Mars rovers. Dr. Bell is currently an editor of the space science journal Icarus and president of The Planetary Society.
He has served as the lead scientist in charge of the Panoramic camera (Pancam) color imaging system on Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

Reviews

[Michael Duane Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this age of right-wing ignoramuses, we should remember that with our flyby of Pluto the United States is the only nation on Earth to have sent probes on successful flybys and exploration of every planet in the Solar System, a fact we can take just pride in. to this we may add NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker mission to the asteroid Eros in 2000. It may have been 18 years ago, but in spite of some close shaves, NEAR Shoemaker made passes at two asteroids, first at Mathilde in 1997 and later at Eros, basically a giant space peanut.

The firsts kept coming: NEAR was the first spacecraft flyby of a C-type asteroid [Mathilde], the first to orbit an asteroid {Eros] and finally to land safely on the surface of an asteroid and return scientific readings from its surface. This is more impressive than it sounds since Eros is such an irregularly shaped space rock. Different members of the NEAR exploratory probe team each offer their own perspectives. Some of their finding overlap, but this serves to highlight different aspects of the mission’s goals.

This slim volume is not necessarily for the scientifically challenged, but it remains a satisfactory read for the technically minded. I’ll conclude with this observation from NEAR science team member Jim Bell: “Are asteroids nothing more than insignificant cosmic leftovers? Ask a dinosaur.”

[Christopher Obert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a collection of nine research papers written by the NEAR Shoemaker’s scientists themselves. The book is somewhat technical but not overly so, and is written for an adventurous reader that likes some of the science thrown in. I found it to be a fascinating story and I appreciate the authors attempt to make me feel like I was along for the ride. Good job, I look forward to your next mission!