DISCOVERY ::: Image Impact

The Deep Impact mission sent a probe into the path of comet Tempel 1 with spectacular results, revealing clues about the comet’s internal composition and structure.


	Bulls-Eye! 67 seconds after impact


	Ice Patches on Tempel 1 First ice found on a comet’s surface

Mike A’Hearn Principal Investigator of the Deep Impact and EPOXI missions

Mike is a professor of astronomy at the University of Maryland. His distinguished career
includes many contributions to the field of cometary science, including developing observational techniques to study their structure and composition.

+ Reflections on “Bulls-Eye” and more about the Deep Impact Mission (MP3, 3:22 min.)

Lucy McFadden Co-Investigator on the Deep Impact, EPOXI, and Dawn missions

Lucy is a planetary scientist and the chief of Higher Education and University Programs at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Co-Investigator on the Dawn mission to asteroids Vesta and Ceres. Previously, she was a research professor at the University of Maryland. Lucy also directed the Education and Public Outreach programs for Discovery’s Deep Impact, EPOXI and Dawn missions.

+ Reflections on “Bulls-Eye” (MP3, 2:25 min.)
+ Reflections on “Ice Patches on Comet Tempel 1”(MP3, 1:22 min.)


	Quiet Before the Storm Tempel 1 Five Minutes before Impact


	Incredible Features on the Nucleus Comet Wild 2 as viewed by Stardust

Don Yeomans Co-investigator on the Deep Impact and EPOXI missions

Don is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and manages NASA's
Near-Earth Object Program, coordinating efforts to detect, track and characterize potentially
hazardous asteroids and comets that could approach the Earth.

+ Reflections on “Quiet Before the Storm” (MP3, 2:15 min.)
+ Reflections on “Incredible Features on the Nucleus” (MP3, 1:16 min.)

Genesis

The Genesis mission collected pieces of the Sun, called solar wind, and returned them to Earth, to find out what
the Sun is composed of and if the planets are made of the same materials.


	Picking Up the Pieces Peter Doukas and Karen McNamara collect pieces from the dirt.

One of 15,000 Fragments
Eileen Stansbury inspects a wafer fragment from the debris pile.


	Analyzing Samples Science data was extracted from samples less than 1 mm in size.

Don Burnett Principal Investigator of the Genesis mission

Don is an Emeritus Professor of Nuclear Geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. His research interests include problems of nucleosynthesis, elemental abundances and chemical evolution of solar system; meteorite and lunar sample analyses.

+ Reflections on “Picking Up the Pieces” and Genesis mission science objectives (MP3, 2:10 min.)
+ Reflections on “One of 15,000 Fragments”(MP3, 1:11min.)
+ Reflections on “Analyzing Samples” (MP3, 1:42 min.)


	Happiness is an Unbroken Wafer Don Burnett displays an unbroken wafer that is 100% intact!


	Anticipating Touchdown The Lockheed team watches remotely as the sample return capsule appears on their screen.

Don Sweetnam Project Manager for the Genesis mission

Don’s roles on Genesis at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory include managing the planning,
control, analysis and recovery team prior to launch, leading the flight team that operated
the spacecraft after launch, and finally assuming overall responsibility for the project.

+ Reflections on “Happiness is an Unbroken Wafer” and Genesis mission findings (MP3, 1:34 min.)
+ Reflections on “Anticipating Touchdown” (MP3, 1:29 min.)


	Examining Fragments In the Utah cleanroom, Don Burnett pulls small fragments from the debris.


	Steady Hands Lift Concentrator Target At JSC, Juan Baldanado lifts a silicon-carbide sample from the concentrator target.

Judy Allton Genesis Solar Wind Curator at the Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office

Judy leads the cataloguing, documenting, dissemination, and laboratory operations for Genesis samples at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas.

+ Reflections on “Examining Fragments” and more about the Genesis mission (MP3, 5:48 min.)
+ Reflections on “Steady Hands” and surprises in the Genesis mission (MP3, 2:14 min.)

Stardust

The Stardust spacecraft captured thousands of dust particles from the coma of comet Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for analysis by scientists worldwide.


	Comet Particle Tracks in Aerogel Analysis of material in the bulbs suggests organic materials in the samples.

The Surface of Comet Wild 2
Surprising large features include two that look like imprints of a left and right foot.


	Ejecta in Aerogel Comet dust leaves an impact crater in the foil frame and ejecta in the aerogel.

Don Brownlee Principal Investigator of the Stardust mission

Don is a professor of astronomy at the University of Washington. His primary research interests include the origin and evolution of planetary materials, planets and planetary systems. He studies primitive materials from comets, asteroids and meteorites.

+ Reflections on “Comet Particle Tracks in Aerogel” (MP3, 1:57 min.)
+ Reflections on “The Surface of Comet Wild 2” (MP3, 1:59 min.)
+ Reflections on “Ejecta in Aerogel” (MP3, 4:19 min.)


	Comet Particle Tracks in Aerogel Analysis reveals a mix of fragile, fine-grained volatiles and hard crystal materials.

Extracted Comet Dust Particle
Tiny particles are sliced thinly to allow electron beams to penetrate for analysis.


	Meeting Dr. Stephen Hawking Keiko and colleagues with Professor Hawking in the Stardust clean room.

Keiko Nakamura-Messenger Stardust science team member

Keiko is a space scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center. She headed a team that discovered a new manganese silicide mineral in cosmic dust and named it Brownleeite, to honor Don Brownlee, who revolutionized research on interplanetary dust entering Earth's atmosphere.

+ Reflections on “Comet Particle Tracks in Aerogel” (MP3, 2:22 min.)
+ Reflections on “Extracted Comet Dust Particle” (MP3, 2:44 min.)
+ Reflections on “Meeting Dr. Hawking” (MP3, 3:36 min.)


	Examining Fragments In the Utah cleanroom, Don Burnett pulls small fragments from the debris.


	Steady Hands Lift Concentrator Target At JSC, Juan Baldanado lifts a silicon-carbide sample from the concentrator target.

Don Yeomans Comet researcher

Don is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and manages NASA's Near-Earth Object Program, coordinating efforts to detect, track and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that could approach the Earth.

+ Reflections on “Analyzing Comet Samples," finding glycine in Wild 2, and more about asteroids & comets (MP3, 1:13 min.)

+ Reflections on “Unlocking Comet Mysteries” and future comet missions
(MP3, 2:53 min.)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Marshall Space Flight Center

Discovery