4660 Nereus - Spacecraft

Spacecraft

Nereus was scheduled for visitation by both the private Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP) probe, and the Japanese sample return mission Hayabusa. However, the NEAP probe was not realized, and the Hayabusa's launch was delayed by 10 months and the probe had to be redirected to 25143 Itokawa. Nonetheless, Nereus may well become a target of future space exploration.