NEAR Mission

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The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) is the first launch of the Discovery program. The goal is to answer fundamental questions about the nature and orign of near-Earth objects through a close investigation of the asteroid 433 Eros.

Mission Timeline

• Feb. 17, 1996 - Launch with a Delta II rocket
• Jun. 27, 1997 - Mathilde Encounter
• Jan. 22, 1998 - Earth swingby
• Jan. 10, 1999 - Eros arrival

IRTF Mission Support

• Thermal observations versus wavelength to model the thermal inertia nad temperature for interpreting the 0.9-2.5 micron spectra
• 10 micron spectra for minerology