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The Deep Impact
mission is the eighth in the NASA Discovery mission series.
The mission will flyby comet P/Tempel 1 and release a smart impactor
24 hours prior to the closest approach. The impactor will relay
close up images of the comet surface before it is destroyed. The
impactor will make a large crater on the surface of the comet, and
we will watch the crater formation processes. Hopefully the crater
will dig below the old evolved surface crust on the comet, and we will make
measurements of the pristine interior.
Mission Timeline
- Jan 2004 - Launch
- July 4, 2005 - impact and flyby
IRTF Mission Support
- Knowledge of the nucleus/asteroid sizes and rotation are needed to
plan the photographic aspects of the mission, as well as to estimate the
gravity field. The IRTF is ideally suited for obtaining nucleus parameters,
such as size, albedo and rotation, which requires simultaneous thermal IR
and optical measurements.
- Excellent models of the dust environment of P/Tempel 1 will be
needed to allow for proper protection of the spacecraft and to ensure
adequate sampling of the dust.
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