NEAR is being built by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and will be the first launch in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will swing by Earth for a gravity assist in January 1998, approach Eros in January 1999, and be injected into orbit to analyze Eros for nearly one year. As a Discovery mission, NEAR faces the challenge of delivering first-rate science on a limited budget and tight schedule. The instruments are supplied with data processors sharing a common design. The propulsion system, central data handling system, and several of the instruments represent heritage from previous civilian and military space missions.
Major systems are redundant functionally, to avoid the cost and mass of duplicate hardware.
The spacecraft design also takes advantage of the particular properties of Eros. The asteroid's elongated shape necessitates use of a near-equatorial orbit in most situations. This combined with the high axial inclination results in the lines of sight to the Sun and Eros typically lying near right angles. Thus, while the solar panels are aimed at the sun, the instruments can be trained on Eros. Aiming at specific points on the asteroid will be accomplished by small rotations of the spacecraft.