New data from the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission indicate that asteroid Eros may be a primordial relic left over from the solar system's formation. Eros seems to have the same ratio of chemical elements as chondritic meteorites, the most primitive rocks in the solar system. Using the X-ray/Gamma-ray Spectrometer (XGRS) on the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft, scientists will spend the remainder of the mission collecting data from other parts of Eros to determine if their latest findings are consistent across the approximately 21-mile-long asteroid. If they are, studying Eros should help scientists understand how the rocky planets evolved.

The NEAR team gathered the information after a powerful explosion on the sun zapped Eros with X-rays on May 4. The half-hour solar flare caused elements on Eros' surface to emit X-rays, a type of radiation invisible to humans. Instruments on NEAR Shoemaker analyzed the intensity of X-rays produced by the asteroid at different wavelengths - getting a fingerprint of the asteroid's chemical composition.

"Chondrites are the building blocks of terrestrial planets," says Dr. Tim McCoy of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, a participating scientist on the XGRS team. "If more data confirm Eros is primordial, Eros will be a link between the chondrite meteorites found on Earth and the history of the solar system's formation. With Eros, we could be looking at the structure of the solar system during a time no longer recorded on Earth."

For the latest ../../../images and mission information, visit the NEAR Web site.

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