NEAR image of the day for 2000 Jul 12
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Closer, Closer, Closer As NEAR Shoemaker descends to a 35-kilometer (22-mile) orbit around Eros, image resolution is improving and the camera is revealing new levels of detail in familiar surface features. This picture was taken July 10, 2000, from an orbital altitude of 41 kilometers (25 miles). The trough cutting across the image from the upper right to lower left is one of the asteroid's many grooves. In this higher-resolution view, the individual pits along the length of the groove appear more distinct than in previous images, and the unevenness of the groove's rim is now visible. Such details are critical to understanding the geologic processes that formed grooves on asteroids.
(Image 0138603366)
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Built and managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, NEAR-Shoemaker was the first spacecraft launched in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, small-scale planetary missions. See the NEAR web site for more details. Feedback to Scott Murchie. Scott.Murchie@jhuapl.edu.