This satellite mission will examine comet composition because the impact will eject materials from the comet. The satellite is composed of two parts: the flyby satellite which has various imaging devices and the impactor which will hit the comet. It is 816 pounds and about the size of a coffee table. Hitting the comet at 23,000 mph will produce a crater on the comet and blast materials into space which the flyby unit will measure.
Below is a data figure. The left image is a visual of the comet and the right image is spectrometer readings that gives data on the chemical composition of the comet.
Image source: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA02100_fig1.jpg
On the manned spaceflight side, Discovery is scheduled for liftoff on July 13.
Crew for STS-114. Front row: (right to left) Eileen M. Collins, Wendy B. Lawrence and James M. Kelly. Back row: (left to right) Stephen K. Robinson, Andrew S. W. Thomas, Charles J. Camarda and Soichi Noguchi. Image source: http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-114/lores/sts114-s-002.jpg
Can you figure out who the commander of the mission is?
On the front row, on the right is Commander Eileen Collins.
No comments:
Post a Comment