May 14 1997
From The Space Library
NASA and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science announced an agreement to combine their efforts to collect and study samples from the surface of the asteroid Nereus. According to the plan, a Japanese launch vehicle would carry a NASA-engineered rover onto the surface of the asteroid. The planned rover, with a visible-imaging camera and a near-infrared point spectrometer, would weigh less than 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms), the smallest spacecraft ever sent into space. A recovery capsule would return to Earth the samples the rover gathered from Nereus. The project would have a lengthy timeframe, with the return of the samples to Earth scheduled for 2006. NASA and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science were hopeful and excited at the prospect of joining forces. "This ambitious mission is an opportunity for two spacefaring nations to combine their expertise and achieve something truly fantastic," said Jurgen H. Rahe, NASA's Director of Solar System Exploration.
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