Review
‘… you will find that the opinions of the mission director vie with the leader and members of the science team … This diversity of views makes the book refreshingly reminiscent of the cut and thrust of space mission planning and execution. the illustrations are superb, with the most astounding images of asteroids obtained so far. Asteroid Rendezvous is a really informative and enjoyable book and a most fitting tribute to an astoundingly successful space mission.’ New Scientist
'This is a collection of personal accounts of the successful NEAR-Shoemaker mission from the scientists and engineers who worked on it. … The enthusiasm of the teams involved with this mission comes across forcefully, as well as the numbers of people and their diverse concerns. It is also a good round-up of current thinking on asteroid composition, not least because the observations from this mission make up a significant part of our body of knowledge about these small but important members of the solar system.' A&G
'Bell and Mitton have written an excellent text and it is well illustrated.' Richard Taylor, Spaceflight
Product Description
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) was the first mission to orbit and eventually land on an asteroid. The mission was a phenomenal success, returning hundreds of thousands of images, spectra, and other measurements about the large near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros. This book is a collection of essays by some of the scientists and engineers who made NEAR such a success. The entire mission is described 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 our most primitive celestial neighbors, and finally the daring attempt to land the spacecraft on Eros at the end of the mission. The book is liberally illustrated throughout with images from the mission and explanatory diagrams.
