Deep Impact: Approach and Impact
July 4, 2018
| Credit | NASA/JPL/UMD |
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On July 4, 2005, NASA crashed a washing machine-sized probe into a comet the size of Manhattan.
The probe was released from NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft, which captured images of comet Tempel 1 before, during and after the collision.
The impact produced a dramatic spray of ice and dust that burst from a newly formed crater. Analysis of the images revealed that comets harbor essential and ancient ingredients of life, including organic material that may have been delivered to Earth billions of years ago. Interior ices and substances in the comet’s core were also preserved, suggesting that they are protected from the Sun’s heat.