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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Impact (spacecraft) | 4/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(spacecraft) | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T12:46:37.709114+00:00 | kb-cron |
The impact was a substantial news event reported and discussed online, in print, and on television. There was a genuine suspense because experts held widely differing opinions over the result of the impact. Various experts debated whether the Impactor would go straight through the comet and out the other side, would create an impact crater, would open up a hole in the interior of the comet, and other theories. However, twenty-four hours before impact, the flight team at JPL began privately expressing a high level of confidence that, barring any unforeseen technical glitches, the spacecraft would intercept Tempel 1. One senior personnel member stated "All we can do now is sit back and wait. Everything we can technically do to ensure impact has been done." In the final minutes as the Impactor hit the comet, more than 10,000 people watched the collision on a giant movie screen at Hawaii's Waikīkī Beach. Experts came up with a range of soundbites to summarize the mission to the public. Iwan Williams of Queen Mary University of London, said "It was like a mosquito hitting a 747. What we've found is that the mosquito didn't splat on the surface; it's actually gone through the windscreen." One day after the impact, Marina Bay, a Russian astrologer, sued NASA for US$300 million for having "ruin[ed] the natural balance of forces in the universe." Her lawyer asked the public to volunteer to help in the claim by declaring "The impact changed the magnetic properties of the comet, and this could have affected mobile telephony here on Earth. If your phone went down this morning, ask yourself Why? and then get in touch with us." On August 9, 2005, the Presnensky Court of Moscow ruled against Bay, although she did attempt to appeal the result. One Russian physicist said that the impact had no effect on Earth and "the change to the orbit of the comet after the collision was only about 10 cm (3.9 in)."
=== Send Your Name To A Comet campaign ===
The mission was notable for one of its promotional campaigns, "Send Your Name To A Comet!". Visitors to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's website were invited to submit their name between May 2003 and January 2004, and the names gathered—some 625,000 in all—were then burnt onto a mini-CD, which was attached to the Impactor. Dr. Don Yeomans, a member of the spacecraft's scientific team, stated "this is an opportunity to become part of an extraordinary space mission ... when the craft is launched in December 2004, yours and the names of your loved-ones can hitch along for the ride and be part of what may be the best space fireworks show in history." The idea was credited with driving interest in the mission.
=== Reaction from China === Chinese researchers used the Deep Impact mission as an opportunity to highlight the efficiency of American science because public support ensured the possibility of funding long-term research. By contrast, "in China, the public usually has no idea what our scientists are doing, and limited funding for the promotion of science weakens people's enthusiasm for research." Two days after the US mission succeeded in having a probe collide with a comet, China revealed a plan: landing a probe on a small comet or asteroid to push it off course. China said it would begin the mission after sending a probe to the Moon.
=== Contributions from amateur astronomers === Since observing time on large, professional telescopes such as Keck or Hubble is always scarce, the Deep Impact scientists called upon "advanced amateur, student, and professional astronomers" to use small telescopes to make long-term observations of the target comet before and after impact. The purpose of these observations was to look for "volatile outgassing, dust coma development and dust production rates, dust tail development, and jet activity and outbursts." By mid-2007, amateur astronomers had submitted over a thousand CCD images of the comet. One notable amateur observation was by students from schools in Hawaii, working with US and UK scientists, who during the press conference took live images using the Faulkes Automatic Telescope in Hawaii (the students operated the telescope over the Internet) and were one of the first groups to get images of the impact. One amateur astronomer reported seeing a structureless bright cloud around the comet, and an estimated 2 magnitude increase in brightness after the impact. Amateur astronomer Jost Jahn published a map of the crash area from NASA images.
=== Musical tribute === The Deep Impact mission coincided with celebrations in the Los Angeles area marking the 50th anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets becoming the first rock and roll single to reach No. 1 on the recording sales charts. Within 24 hours of the mission's success, a 2-minute music video produced by Martin Lewis had been created using images of the impact itself combined with computer animation of the Deep Impact probe in flight, interspersed with footage of Bill Haley & His Comets performing in 1955 and the surviving original members of The Comets performing in March 2005. On July 5, 2005, the surviving original members of The Comets (ranging in age from 71–84) performed a free concert for hundreds of employees of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help them celebrate the mission's success. This event received worldwide press attention. In February 2006, the International Astronomical Union citation that officially named asteroid 79896 Billhaley included a reference to the JPL concert.
== Extended mission ==
Deep Impact embarked on an extended mission designated EPOXI (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Deep Impact Extended Investigation) to visit other comets, after being put to sleep in 2005 upon completion of the Tempel 1 mission.