At 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, navigation data from the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft indicates NEAR has achieved orbit around asteroid 433 Eros.

At 10:33 a.m., with Eros about 203 miles (327 kilometers) below, NEAR's small hydrazine thrusters fired for 57 seconds, slowing the spacecraft's approach to walking speed and easing it into the asteroid's weak gravitational pull. The rendezvous took place about 160 million miles (256 million kilometers) from Earth.

"NEAR is now the first spacecraft to successfully lock into orbit around an asteroid," says Mission Director Dr. Robert Farquhar, from the NEAR Mission Operations Center at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "We're making history here today."

Over the next 24 hours, instrument data and pictures of the asteroid taken after the orbit insertion burn will provide more details about NEAR's precise position around Eros.

Click here for a look at NEAR's first close-up picture from Eros, an impact crater 3 miles (5 kilometers) wide showing lots of geologic complexity. The scientists are getting excited!

More than 100 craters may ultimately be found on Eros, giving the mission team the daunting challenge of naming them all. The team could use a little help, so they are asking the public to suggest crater names. The selection process will follow rules laid down by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to ensure that the names chosen are appropriate and worthy. The Planetary Society is overseeing the naming game. Click here to find out how to submit your suggestions.

For more information on the NEAR mission, go to the NEAR Home Page.

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