Astronauts have said that from space, Earth looks like a beautiful blue marble. And that's how it appeared in unusually crisp new photos taken by the NEAR spacecraft. How near was NEAR? Just 336 miles from Earth.
Near, which stands for near Earth asteroid rendezvous, is on a mission to study an asteroid called 433 Eros. The 25-mile-long asteroid, or space rock, is about 14 million miles from Earth. NEAR will begin sending back pictures of Eros as early as June. Then it will study Eros' surface and return its findings to Earth.
Scientists think asteroids are pieces left over from the solar system's formation. They hope the near mission will help answer questions about the solar system's beginnings.