Space: In 2001 NASA's NEAR Shoemaker became the first probe to…

Question

Did you know? In 2001 NASA's NEAR Shoemaker became the first probe to land on an asteroid (Eros, 33 km long). It wasn't actually designed to land — programmers improvised the manoeuvre. It survived 2 weeks on the surface before its battery died. A probe that "accidentally" hit a planetary surface — and kept working.

Accepted Answer

In 2001 NASA's NEAR Shoemaker became the first probe to land on an asteroid (Eros, 33 km long). It wasn't actually designed to land — programmers improvised the manoeuvre. It survived 2 weeks on the surface before its battery died. A probe that "accidentally" hit a planetary surface — and kept working.

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