2001 - The U.S.-German spacecraft Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) lands on the surface of asteroid Eros.

Although the spacecraft never was designed to land on the asteroid, scientists decide to make the attempt to get more data as the spacecraft runs out of fuel. Early data taken from the yearlong orbit by NEAR suggest that Eros is a solid, rocky body that once might have been part of a larger body such as a moon or planet. (© AP Images)