Members zachoff Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4079954.stm July date for comet encounterDeep Impact, Pat Rawlings The American Deep Impact spacecraft is on course to fire a probe into a comet on July 4, scientists have announced. The missile, travelling at 100 times the speed of a bullet, is expected to blast a hole in the heart of the space rock, spraying out ice and dust. Analysing this primordial material, which was around at the time the Solar System formed, could shed light on the origin of the planets. The collision is set for 0552 GMT on Independence Day in America. About a day before, the mothership will release a small copper probe, which will steer itself towards Comet Tempel 1, a space rock the size of Manhattan. Cameras on the projectile and the mothership will record the event and instruments on Deep Impact will analyse gases and debris ejected. Rick Grammier, Deep Impact project manager at the US space agency Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, called the manoeuvre "extremely challenging". "In our quest of a great scientific payoff, we are attempting something never done before at speeds and distances that are truly out of this world," he said. "It's a bullet trying to hit a second bullet with a third bullet, in the right place at the right time, watching the first two bullets and gathering the scientific data from that impact," he told a news briefing in Washington on Thursday. Mission scientists said they expected to be able to solve a technical glitch that has caused the spacecraft to return blurry images from one of its instruments. They will use a mathematical process on the images it captures after they have been transmitted to Earth. Deep Impact has taken six months to travel some 268 million miles (431 million km) from Earth. The mission is named after the 1998 Hollywood film in which an astronaut attempts to stop a comet hitting the Earth. It aims to look under the surface of a comet, at material that has remained untouched since the birth of the planets.
Members mrcrow Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 there will be some viruses in there as well...
Members leepmeister Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 Originally posted by mrcrow there will be some viruses in there as well... what are you implying
Members ezstep Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 If a piece of that breaks off and crashes through my bass cab in my house, I'm suing!
Members NeonVomit Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 I'm sure they have it all worked out that it won't suddenly veer towards us and smash into Earth. If it does, we're royally screwed:D
Members sunburstbasser Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 Originally posted by NeonVomit I'm sure they have it all worked out that it won't suddenly veer towards us and smash into Earth.If it does, we're royally screwed:D If they hit it hard enough to change its course perceptibally it'd be one of the biggest feats in science in years no matter where it went!
Members NeonVomit Posted June 10, 2005 Members Posted June 10, 2005 Originally posted by sunburstbasser If they hit it hard enough to change its course perceptibally it'd be one of the biggest feats in science in years no matter where it went! Hmm... *cough*canada*cough* DISCLAIMER: now now, i have nothing against Canada. I'm just bored and everyone here seems to make fun of Canada (and I watched the Southpark movie last night ) I have Canadian friends of mine and I'm sure it's a lovely country.
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