The NEAR Shoemaker (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) spacecraft, launched by NASA on February 17, 1996, embarked on a journey of exploration to study 433 Eros, a near-Earth asteroid. Designed to gather data about asteroids and their potential resources, NEAR Shoemaker completed several flybys of Earth and the asteroid 253 Mathilde before reaching its final destination. On February 14, 2000, the spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Eros, making it the first spacecraft ever to achieve this feat. The orbital insertion required a carefully calculated thrust maneuver that allowed the spacecraft to be captured by the asteroid's gravity.

Once in orbit, NEAR Shoemaker began a year-long survey of Eros, providing unprecedented insights into its surface characteristics, geology, and composition. The data collected by the onboard instruments revealed Eros to be a lumpy, irregularly shaped body with varying terrain, including craters and smooth plains. As the mission progressed, NEAR gathered images and spectral data that contributed to the understanding of asteroid origins and compositions. This groundbreaking research paved the way for future missions to other asteroids and significantly advanced humanity's knowledge of these celestial bodies.

The NEAR Shoemaker mission culminated in a successful landing on Eros in February 2001, bringing an end to a pioneering project that demonstrated the possibility of studying asteroids up close. Through its findings, NEAR Shoemaker provided vital information on the formation of the solar system and the materials that may have contributed to the formation of planets. The mission underscored the feasibility of long-duration space missions, enhancing the roadmap for future exploration of near-Earth objects and beyond.