Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC                    January 25, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Helen Worth
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
(Phone: 240/228-5113)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N01-05

BRIEFINGS AND LIVE FEED SET FOR FIRST ASTEROID TOUCHDOWN

     On Feb. 12, NASA makes history when mission controllers 
attempt to bring a spacecraft down to the surface of an asteroid 
for the first time. 

Controllers will send commands to the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft 
to initiate a four-hour series of engine burns designed to set 
the spacecraft down gently on the asteroid Eros at about 3:01 
p.m. EST.

The target site is on a saddle-shaped area known as Himeros on 
the Manhattan-sized asteroid. The goal is to obtain high-
resolution imagery as NEAR Shoemaker, which has completed its 
one-year orbital mission of Eros, slowly drops to the surface.

A media briefing to discuss the mission's science results and 
the details of the descent to the surface of Eros is set for 1 
p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 31, in the James E. Webb Auditorium at 
NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC. The briefing 
will be carried live on NASA Television with question-and-answer 
capability for reporters at participating NASA Centers.

Speakers for the briefing will be:
-  Dr. Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator for Space Science, 
   NASA Headquarters
-  Dr. Andrew Cheng, NEAR Project Scientist, The Johns Hopkins 
   University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, MD
-  Dr. Mark Robinson, Imaging Team member, Northwestern 
   University, Evanston, IL
-  Dr. Jessica Sunshine, Staff Scientist, Science Applications 
   International Corp., Chantilly, VA
-  Dr. Robert Farquhar, NEAR Mission Director, APL

On Monday, Feb. 12, 2001, "Descent to Eros" events will be held 
at the Applied Physics Laboratory's Kossiakoff Center, in 
Laurel, MD. Media interested in covering the descent activities 
at APL should contact Helen Worth, APL Public Affairs Office. 

A brief summary of the Feb. 12 activities are: 
- 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. EST -- Recap of the mission 
- 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. EST -- Descent Activities from the NEAR
  Mission Operations Center (broadcast live on satellite).

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, a press conference is scheduled at 1 p.m. 
EST in APL's Kossiakoff Center to discuss details of the 
landing. Because NEAR was not designed to land, there is very 
little chance the spacecraft will continue to operate after it 
reaches the surface of Eros.

Due to the expected launch of the space shuttle mission in 
February, live coverage of the descent-day activities on Feb. 12 
and the post-mission briefing on Feb. 14 will not be broadcast 
on NASA TV, but will be available on a separate satellite. 
Details regarding those two events, including updated satellite 
information, will be provided early next month.

NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 
85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. 
Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz.