NEAR Shoemaker was a NASA mission. It flew by the Asteroid 253 Mathilde. It orbited and landed on the asteroid 433 Eros.

This is the first mission by NASA's Discovery program. It is also the first mission to orbit and land on an asteroid. Its first attempt to orbit the asteroid failed. Although they tried again, and they did it.

After landing on the asteroid, the probe lasted for only around 2 weeks. This was because of the cold temperatures.[1]

References

  1. "In Depth | NEAR Shoemaker". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved 2022-11-03.