Near Earth Asteroid Prospector
Encyclopedia
The Near Earth Asteroid Prospector, or NEAP, was a concept for a small innovative commercial spacecraft mission by the private company SpaceDev
. The goal was to fly NEAP to a targeted near Earth asteroid residing beyond the Earth's orbit, successfully land one or more scientific instruments on the asteroid, communicate the scientific data to Earth, and claim the asteroid as private property. The project ran into fundraising difficulties. One of the most likely candidates was 4660 Nereus
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SpaceDev
SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites...
. The goal was to fly NEAP to a targeted near Earth asteroid residing beyond the Earth's orbit, successfully land one or more scientific instruments on the asteroid, communicate the scientific data to Earth, and claim the asteroid as private property. The project ran into fundraising difficulties. One of the most likely candidates was 4660 Nereus
4660 Nereus
4660 Nereus is a small asteroid. It was discovered by Eleanor F. Helin on February 28, 1982, approximately 1 month after a near pass by the Earth. It is named after Nereus, a Titan in Greek mythology.Nereus is potentially a very important asteroid...
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