NASA weighs options after Deep Impact's success
An AP newswire article by Alicia Chang, via USA Today, reports that:
NASA is considering an encore for its Deep Impact spacecraft, which made history earlier this month when it smashed a hole in a comet to study its frozen primordial core. While the space agency has not approved a specific future mission, it did give scientists at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena the go-ahead to bring the spacecraft closer to Earth's orbit for a potential mission extension.
Deep Impact planned to fire its thrusters on Wednesday to slightly change course in a maneuver that will bring it back to Earth by 2008. Then the spacecraft will switch to safe mode to conserve energy until it receives orders for a possible second mission. If left untouched, the spacecraft will drift further away.
posted by Fergie @ 7/20/2005 06:36:00 AM
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