Dec 13 2007
From The Space Library
NASA approved plans to retarget the EPOXI mission for a flyby of comet Hartley 2 in October 2010. NASA had melded two science investigations—the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization and the Deep Impact Extended Investigation—to create the EPOXI mission. NASA was revising the mission’s goal because its initial target, Boethin, had inexplicably disappeared. Scientists had expected Boethin to appear by October. Although they thought that Boethin might still eventually show up far off track, scientists theorized that the comet had more likely broken into pieces too small to detect. Thomas C. Duxbury, EPOXI Project Manager, explained that Hartley 2 was as interesting as Boethin because Hartley 2 also has relatively small, active nuclei. However, the spacecraft would require an additional two years to reach Hartley 2.
NASA, “NASA Sends Spacecraft on Mission to Comet Hartley 2,” news release 07-279, 13 December 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_07279_EPOXI_mission_to_comet_Hartley.html (accessed 20 October 2010); Xinhua News Agency, “Deep Impact Gets New Mission to Comet Hartley 2,” 17 December 2007; Helen Altonn, “Missing Comet Baffles Scientists,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 17 December 2007.
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