| http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA6HGQC5NC.html
NASA Approves Mission to Blast Comet The Associated Press Published: May 24, 2001 PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - NASA on Thursday approved a mission designed to send a projectile hurtling into a comet in an effort to bare the dirty space snowball's nucleus for study. National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials gave the Deep Impact mission team the nod to begin full-scale development of the spacecraft for a January 2004 launch. The $240 million mission will take 18 months to arrive in the neighborhood of Comet Tempel 1. Once at the comet, the main spacecraft will deploy a smaller, 771-pound impactor to smash into the body on July 4, 2005. The main spacecraft will remain at a safe distance to measure and image the outflow of gases from the blast hole, the size of a football field and seven stories deep. The impact should cause the comet to brighten enough to be visible from Earth. The artificial cratering of the comet won't destroy it, but will kick up enough material to allow scientists to learn more about its composition. Preserved by the deep freeze of space, comets are thought to contain pristine examples of the primitive material that formed the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Comet Tempel 1 was discovered in 1867. It orbits the sun once every 5.5 years. --- On the Net: http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/ AP-ES-05-24-01 2301EDT |
