Deep Impact scores a bullseye
Posted: Mon, Jul 4, 2005, 11:27 AM ET (1527 GMT)
A probe from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft collided with the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 early Monday as scientists declared the mission a "smashing success". The prove. which deployed from the main spacecraft early Sunday, hit the nucleus at 1:52 am EDT (0552 GMT). Cameras on the probe returned images of ever-increasing detail of the nucleus' surface as it approached, revealing craters, ridges, and other features. The impact itself created a brilliant plume of material, far more prominent that scientists predicted, that was clearly seen by the main spacecraft as it flew past the comet. A handful of images and other data were returned by the spacecraft, with the rest to be downlinked in the days to come.
A probe from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft collided with the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 early Monday as scientists declared the mission a "smashing success". The prove. which deployed from the main spacecraft early Sunday, hit the nucleus at 1:52 am EDT (0552 GMT). Cameras on the probe returned images of ever-increasing detail of the nucleus' surface as it approached, revealing craters, ridges, and other features. The impact itself created a brilliant plume of material, far more prominent that scientists predicted, that was clearly seen by the main spacecraft as it flew past the comet. A handful of images and other data were returned by the spacecraft, with the rest to be downlinked in the days to come.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, February 4
Matryoshka Satellites, Robotic Arms: Former US Space Force Commander Warns Of Russian, Chinese Threats
Radio Free Europe — 6:44 am ET (1144 GMT) Trump’s Golden Dome, a year in, is struggling to take shape
POLITICO — 6:43 am ET (1143 GMT) The Numbers, and Questions, Behind Musk’s Mega-Merger
New York Times — 6:43 am ET (1143 GMT) Elon Musk’s mega-merger makes little business sense
The Economist — 6:41 am ET (1141 GMT) Elon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space — or so he says
The Verge — 6:40 am ET (1140 GMT) |
