Near's encounter with Eros is its second chance to go into orbit around the rock.

BBC: Probe nears its rocky target

That is, until US satellite company Iridium decided to sell real estate on a portion of its next-generation global satellites, which are set to go into orbit starting in 2015 and be fully operational by 2018.

BBC: The key to preventing lost planes

It's supposed to go into orbit for a couple of years, taking these incredible close-up pictures, and you probably remember, Madeleine, that there's two little rovers that are still roving around on the surface of Mars, and they're still working great and sending back pictures.

NPR: Shuttle Landing Delayed Due to Poor Weather