NASA Craft Primes For Valentine Comet Encounter
PASADENA (AP) — A NASA spacecraft is ready to get up close and personal with its comet sweetheart.
The Valentine's Day encounter between the Stardust craft and comet Tempel 1 will occur some 210 million miles from Earth. Flying at 24,000 mph, Stardust will come within 125 miles of the comet at about 8:40 p.m. PST and use its camera to snap close-up images of the surface.
If all goes as planned, it will be the first time that two different spacecraft have visited Tempel 1.
In 2005, the comet received a not-so-romantic visit by another NASA craft named Deep Impact. Instead of flying by Tempel 1, Deep Impact fired a copper bullet that smashed into the comet so scientists could study the debris blasted out of the interior.
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