Asteroid Exploration: Missions to the Rocky Wanderers

NEAR Shoemaker was the first spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with an asteroid, Eros, in 1998.

The primary mission objective of the Hayabusa spacecraft was to return a sample of asteroid material to Earth, which it successfully did in 2010.

Dawn was the first spacecraft to orbit two asteroids, Vesta and Ceres, in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

OSIRIS-REx is currently studying the asteroid Bennu, which it arrived at in 2018.

Eros is an S-type asteroid, which means it is composed primarily of silicate minerals.

Ceres is the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, with a diameter of approximately 950 kilometers.

The average distance between the Earth and the asteroid belt is approximately 2.5 AU (Astronomical Units).

Ida is known for its two prominent moons, Dactyl and S/2003 (243) 1.

Ceres was the first asteroid to be discovered, in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi.

The JAXA Hayabusa2 mission is targeting the asteroid Ryugu.

OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to return a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in 2023.

Eros is known for its unusual shape, which is roughly potato-shaped.

The NASA Psyche mission is targeting the asteroid Psyche, which is believed to be the exposed core of a planet.

Psyche is known for its high concentration of precious metals, such as iron and nickel.

Lucy is scheduled to launch in 2022 to study the Trojan asteroids, which are a group of asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun.