Editing NEAR Shoemaker (section)

===Orbits and landing===
[[File:Erosregolith.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Eros from approximately 250&nbsp;meters altitude (area in image is roughly 12&nbsp;meters across). This image was taken during ''NEAR''{{'s}} descent to the surface of the asteroid.<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Images from 2001 Feb 12 |url=http://near.jhuapl.edu/iod/20010214/index.html |website=near.jhuapl.edu |access-date=17 April 2022}}</ref>]]

Following the flyby, ''NEAR'' moved to a 200&nbsp;km circular orbit and shifted the orbit from [[direct motion|prograde]] near-polar to a retrograde near-equatorial orbit. By December 13, 2000, the orbit was shifted back to a circular 35&nbsp;km low orbit. Starting on January 24, 2001, the spacecraft began a series of close passes (5 to 6&nbsp;km) to the surface and, on January 28, passed 2 to 3&nbsp;km from the asteroid. The spacecraft then made a slow controlled descent to the surface of Eros, ending with a touchdown just to the south of the saddle-shaped feature Himeros on February 12, 2001, at approximately 20:01 UT (3:01&nbsp;p.m. EST). To the surprise of the controllers, the spacecraft was undamaged and operational after the landing at an estimated speed of 1.5 to 1.8&nbsp;meters per second (thus becoming the first spacecraft to soft-land on an asteroid).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016|page=2|last1=Siddiqi|first1=Asif A.|lccn=2017059404|isbn=9781626830424|publisher=NASA History Program Office|edition=second|year=2018|id=SP2018-4041|series=The NASA history series|location=Washington, DC}}</ref> After receiving an extension of antenna time on the [[Deep Space Network]], the spacecraft's gamma-ray spectrometer was reprogrammed to collect data on Eros's composition from a vantage point about {{convert|4|in}} from the surface where it was ten times more sensitive than when it was used in orbit.<ref name=phone>{{Cite news | title = The End of an Asteroidal Adventure: NEAR Shoemaker Phones Home for the Last Time | last = Worth | first = Helen | date = February 28, 2001 | publisher = [[Applied Physics Lab]] | url = http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/flash/01feb28.html}}</ref> This increase in sensitivity was in part due to the increased ratio of the signal from Eros compared to the noise generated by the probe itself.<ref name=Trombka /> The impact of cosmic rays on the sensor was also reduced by about 50%.<ref name=Trombka>{{cite journal |author=Trombka, J. I. |display-authors=4 | author2=Nittler, L. R. |author3=Starr, R. D. |author4=Evans, L. G. |author5=Mccoy, T. J. |author6=Boynton, W. V. |author7=Burbine, T. H. |author8=Brückner, J. |author9=Gorenstein, P. |author10=Squyres, S. W. |author11=Reedy, R. C. |author12=Goldsten, J. O. |author13=Lim, L. |author14=Hurley, K. |author15=Clark, P. E. |author16=Floyd, S. R. |author17=Mcclanahan, T. P. |author18=Mccartney, E. |author19=Branscomb, J. |author20=Bhangoo, J. S. |author21=Mikheeva, I. |author22=Murphy, M. E. | name-list-style=amp |date=2001 |title=The NEAR-Shoemaker x-ray/gamma-ray spectrometer experiment: Overview and lessons learned |journal=Meteoritics & Planetary Science |volume=36 |issue=12 |pages=1605–1616 | doi=10.1111/j.1945-5100.2001.tb01852.x |bibcode = 2001M&PS...36.1605T |doi-access=free }}</ref>

At 7 p.m. EST on February 28, 2001, the last data signals were received from ''NEAR'' Shoemaker before it was shut down. A final attempt to communicate with the spacecraft on December 10, 2002, was unsuccessful. This was likely due to the extreme −279&nbsp;°F (−173&nbsp;°C, 100 [[kelvin|K]]) conditions the probe experienced while on Eros.<ref name=silent>{{Cite news | title ='NEAR Shoemaker's Silent Treatment | date = February 23, 2001 | publisher = [[Applied Physics Laboratory]] | url = http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/flash/02dec12_1.html}}</ref>