This artist's impression shows the NASA Deep Impact spacecraft.
This artist's impression shows the NASA Deep Impact spacecraft.
It was sent to Comet Tempel 1 in 2005 to fire an almost 400 kilogram, high-velocity copper projectile at the comet, which is five to eight kilometres in size. The fountain of gas and dust released upon impact led to conclusions on the composition of the comet, including its subsurface.
Credit:
NASA/JPL/UMD/Pat Rawlings