NEAR’s Near-Infrared Spectrometer No Longer Works
According to Johns Hopkins University, “One of NEAR Shoemaker’s six scientific instruments has been turned off after the NEAR mission team detected a power surge in the device. During routine operations on May 13, the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIS) inexplicably began drawing excessive current from the spacecraft’s power supply and stopped
sending data. Engineers shut down the instrument and began examining potential causes, but after a minute-long “turn on” test June 5 showed the problem remained, the
NEAR team opted to keep the instrument off until it could gather more information.”
A subsequent one-minute NIS survival test was executed on 5 June 2000 . The test indicated the NIS is in the same nonfunctional condition as it was several weeks ago. According to Johns Hopkins “Currently, there are no future NIS turn “ON” plans.
The NIS was designed to map the mineral composition of the asteroid’s surface by measuring the reflected spectrum of sunlight. Before it failed, the NIS collected a substantial amount of data during a low-angle flyby of the norther hemisphere of asteroid 433 Eros on 13 February 2000. Data collected represent more than 60 percent of the surface of Eros.
While the NIS seems to be permanently inoperable, NEAR mission managers will be able to correleate NIS, Multispectral Imager, and X-ray/Gamma-Ray spectrometer data from northern hemisphere observations such that the composition of unanalysed portions of the southern hemisphere can be determined.
Related Links
° NEAR-Shoemaker Report 09 Jun 00, Johns Hopkins University
° NEAR Team Deactivates Spacecraft’s Near-Infrared Sensor, Johns Hopkins University
° NEAR’s Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIS), Johns Hopkins University
Background Information
° Focus on NEAR, SpaceRef
