... Р?С?С?С?Р?Р?Р?Р?РеС?Р?С?Р?РеР? ... Launched on February 17, 1996, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission is to be the first of NASA's Discovery missions, a series of small-scale spacecraft designed to proceed from development to flight in under three years for a cost of less than $150 million. ... The ultimate goal of the mission is to rendezvous with and achieve orbit around the near Earth asteroid 433 Eros in February, 1999, and study the asteroid for approximately one year. ...