4660 Nereus

4660 Nereus ( /ˈnɪəriəs/ NEER-ee-əs; Greek: Νηρέας) is a small (about 0.33 kilometres (0.21 mi)) 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. It is an Apollo and Mars-crosser, with an orbit that frequently comes very close to Earth, and because of this it is exceptionally accessible to spacecraft. Indeed, because of its small size and close orbit, its delta-V for rendezvous of ~5 km/s is smaller than the Moon's, which is about 6.3 km/s.

Nereus makes seven approaches to Earth of less than 5 million km between 1900 and 2100. The closest will be in February 2060, at 1.2 million km. The next close approach is in December 2021, when it will be 3.9 million km away. Its orbital period of 1.82 yr also puts it somewhat near a 2:1 orbital resonance with Earth, which means that an approximately 4-year mission could depart for and return from the asteroid on relatively near passes to the Earth.