On This Day in Space: Galileo Spacecraft Flies by Asteroid Gaspra

On October 29, 1991, NASA's Galileo spacecraft made history by completing the first-ever close flyby of an asteroid, snapping detailed images of Gaspra.

Marking a pivotal milestone in planetary exploration, NASA's Galileo spacecraft whizzed past asteroid Gaspra on October 29, 1991, while en route to Jupiter. This monumental event represented the very first time in human history that a spacecraft visited an asteroid.

Traveling at a relative speed of roughly 5 miles per second and passing within 990 miles of Gaspra, Galileo utilized its Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer and onboard cameras to analyze the irregular, cratered, 12-mile-long space rock. The mission provided unprecedented geological data that permanently reshaped our understanding of the asteroid belt.