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Deep Impact Mission

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  1. Comet
  2. Halley's Comet
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  4. Wasteful NASA Constellation Spending
  5. New Horizons Mission
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Get updates on Deep Impact Mission
Comet Gets Visit from NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft

After a cosmic chase lasting months and covering millions of miles, a comet-hunting spacecraft finally caught its icy quarry.NASA's Deep Impact probe zoomed to within 435 miles (700 kilometers) of Comet Hartley 2 at 10:01 a.m. EDT (1401 GMT) today, taking pictures all the while. The close encounter marked just the fifth time that a spacecraft has ever visited a comet. [ Brief History of Comet Close Encounters .]Mission scientists hope the rendezvous reveals what Hartley 2's icy nucleus is made of. By comparing Hartley 2 to the four other comets spacecraft have visited, they're hoping to gain a better understanding of comet structure and behavior, and perhaps of the solar system's formation."This comet is unlike any we've visited before, and we don't know what we're going to find," Mike A'Hearn of the University of Maryland, principal investigator of Deep Impact's mission, said before the encounter. Researchers are eagerly anticipating sifting through the wealth of comet observations De...

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  1. Hyperactive Comet Hartley 2 Is a Spiky Mystery for Astronomers

    HOUSTON – Comet Hartley 2, the icy "space drumstick" photographed by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft last year, is an active object that still perplexes scientists as ...

  2. NASA Spacecraft Closes In on Comet

    A NASA ( search ) spacecraft was speedily closing in on its target Friday, a comet scientists hope to smash open this weekend, producing celestial fireworks for the ...

  3. NASA Capsule to Return First Comet Samples to Earth

    The last time NASA scientists hunkered down at this remote desert Army base, they stared wide-eyed as a space probe carrying solar wind atoms crashed into the salt f...

  4. Hyperactive Comet Caught on Tape

    Scientists now have close-up pictures of a hyperactive comet that seems to be spewing water.Hartley 2 isn't the only such comet, but it's the first to be visited by ...

  5. Possible 'comet of the century,' astronomers say

    Astronomers are already getting set for the arrival of Comet ISON, which may become one of the brightest comets ever seen when it cruises through the inner solar sys...

  6. 11 Things Americans Will Be Doing in Space in 2011

    From private spaceflights to NASA missions to the moon, Mars and beyond, the next year promises to be a busy one for Americans in space. Here's a preview of just som...

  7. NASA Spacecraft Photographs Comet in Valentine's Day Flyby

    A NASA spacecraft zipped close by comet Tempel 1 late last night (Feb. 14), keeping a cosmic date that wrapped up an out-of-this-world Valentine's Day.The Stardust-N...

  8. Doomsday Determined? Asteroid Apophis Could Strike Earth in 2036

    The date for Armageddon has been set, and it's not going to happen in 2012.In 2004, NASA scientists announced that there was a chance that Apophis, an asteroid large...

  9. Astrologer Sues NASA Over Comet Collision

    NASA's mission that sent a space probe smashing into a comet raised more than cosmic dust — it also brought a lawsuit from a Russian astrologer.Marina Bai ( search )...

  10. Spacecraft Flies Past Snowstorm From Comet

    A NASA spacecraft had to survive a cosmic snowstorm once it reached a distant comet two weeks ago, but still managed to beam back photos of never-before-seen cometar...

  11. NASA Spacecraft Set to Rendezvous With Comet

    Five years after a NASA spacecraft bombarded a comet, it will visit another one Thursday. This time, there won't be celestial fireworks.Speeding at 27,000 mph, the D...

  12. Deep Impact Spacecraft Zips Past Earth

    Deep Impact Spacecraft Zips Past EarthTuesday, January 01, 2008By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science WriterE-Mail Print Share:LOS ANGELES —  A comet-busting NASA spacecraft zi...

  1. NASA Plans Valentine's Day Visit to a Rocketing Comet Millions of Miles Away

    On Valentine's Day (Feb. 14), NASA's Stardust-NExT spacecraft will make a close flyby of comet Tempel 1, zipping to within just 124 miles (200 kilometers) of the icy...

  2. Nuclear One-Two Punch Could Knock Out Dangerous Asteroid

    Destroying a dangerous asteroid with a nuclear bomb is a well-worn trope of science fiction, but it could become reality soon enough.Scientists are developing a miss...

  3. NASA Spacecraft to Swoop in on Speeding Comet

    A NASA spacecraft prepares for the closest ever look at a speeding comet.Next week, the Deep Impact spacecraft is set to pass within 435 miles (700 kilometers) of a ...

  4. Big asteroid could pose threat to Earth in 2040

    Scientists are keeping a close eye on a big asteroid that may pose an impact threat to Earth in a few decades.The space rock, which is called 2011 AG5, is about 460 ...

  5. Deep Impact Probe Found Water in Comet

    The Deep Impact space probe found the first evidence that comets have ice on their dusty surfaces, raising the possibility that comets may have delivered life-giving...

  6. NASA Plans Close Encounter With a Comet

    A NASA spacecraft is hoping for sweet science on Valentine's Day when it makes a close flyby of the comet Tempel 1.Launched in February 1999, the industrious spacecr...

  7. First Close-up Photos of Comet Hartley 2 Reveal a Space Peanut

    A NASA spacecraft has beamed back the first close-up photos from its rendezvous with a comet -- and the images show an ice ball that looks like a giant chicken drums...

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