NEAR Shoemaker became the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid when it entered orbit around 433 Eros on 14 February 2000.
NASA launched the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft in 1996. It was later renamed NEAR Shoemaker to honor planetary scientist Eugene Shoemaker. After an unsuccessful attempt to enter orbit around asteroid 253 Mathilde during a flyby, mission controllers redirected the spacecraft toward Eros.
NEAR spent about a year mapping Eros, measuring its composition, gravity field, magnetic properties, and surface geology. On 12 February 2001, it also became the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid, making a controlled descent to Eros's surface after its planned orbital mission.
Hayabusa later became the first mission to return asteroid samples to Earth, while Dawn became the first spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies. Those achievements are related but distinct from NEAR's pioneering asteroid orbit.