Small-body mission · NASA / JPL / University of Maryland

Deep Impact

A NASA Discovery mission that released a 370 kg impactor into the path of comet 9P/Tempel 1 in 2005, excavating material from below the surface while the flyby spacecraft observed the impact — the first look inside a comet.

CompletedFlyby Mission Impactor Mission

This is the small-body-missions view of Deep Impact. See its main mission page for the full profile.

Targets & sample

Target bodies:Tempel 1

Mission & science

Goals: Excavate and observe pristine material from beneath a comet's surface.
Engineering milestones: First artificial impact on a comet (4 July 2005); continued as EPOXI to comet Hartley 2.
Science discoveries: Tempel 1's surface is fine, weakly-bound dust; the ejecta revealed water ice and organics.
Outcome: Complete success; extended as EPOXI.

Knowledge connections

VisitedTempel 1
Member of groupFlyby Mission
Member of groupImpactor Mission
Launched byDelta II
Operated byNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
VisitedTempel 1
ImpactedTempel 1
Associated withDeep Impact Strikes Comet Tempel 1

Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.

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