Mars spacecraft prepare to observe comet flyby
Posted: Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 9:41 AM ET (1341 GMT)
An international fleet of spacecraft orbiting and on the surface of Mars are planning to observe a comet as it makes a close flyby of Mars this coming Sunday. Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will pass less than 140,000 kilometers from Mars on October 19, with its closest approach at 2:27 pm EDT (1827 GMT). Several NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars, as well as the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, plan to make observations of the comet as it flies by Mars, although the orbiters will be positioned on the opposite side of Mars from the comet at closest approach to minimize the risk of damage from cometary dust. ESA's Mars Express and India's Mars Orbiter Mission, two other spacecraft orbiting Mars, also plan to observe the comet during its flyby. Siding Spring is the first comet coming in directly from the distant Oort Cloud to be observed up close by spacecraft. Other spacecraft orbiting the Earth, and groundbased telescopes, plan to observe the comet.
An international fleet of spacecraft orbiting and on the surface of Mars are planning to observe a comet as it makes a close flyby of Mars this coming Sunday. Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will pass less than 140,000 kilometers from Mars on October 19, with its closest approach at 2:27 pm EDT (1827 GMT). Several NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars, as well as the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, plan to make observations of the comet as it flies by Mars, although the orbiters will be positioned on the opposite side of Mars from the comet at closest approach to minimize the risk of damage from cometary dust. ESA's Mars Express and India's Mars Orbiter Mission, two other spacecraft orbiting Mars, also plan to observe the comet during its flyby. Siding Spring is the first comet coming in directly from the distant Oort Cloud to be observed up close by spacecraft. Other spacecraft orbiting the Earth, and groundbased telescopes, plan to observe the comet.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, March 23
A rare encounter: How Juice came to observe 3I/ATLAS
ESA — 4:14 am ET (0814 GMT) Ukraine makes territorial gains as Russia loses Starlink access
Semafor — 4:14 am ET (0814 GMT) State of Vandenberg: Growth, transparency, and a shared future
Santa Maria (CA) Times — 4:10 am ET (0810 GMT) Project Sunrise: Blue Origin's Orbital Data Centre Ambition
AI Magazine — 4:10 am ET (0810 GMT) Elon Musk unveils chip manufacturing plans for SpaceX and Tesla
TechCrunch — 4:08 am ET (0808 GMT) |
