IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Deep Impact probe ready for comet encounter

A NASA spacecraft is about to have another close look at a comet.
An artist's conception shows NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft flying past Earth in June, on its way to Comet Hartley 2. The comet flyby is scheduled for Nov. 4.
An artist's conception shows NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft flying past Earth in June, on its way to Comet Hartley 2. The comet flyby is scheduled for Nov. 4.AP
/ Source: The Associated Press

A NASA spacecraft is about to have another close look at a comet.

Next week, the Deep Impact spacecraft is set to pass within 435 miles of a half-mile-wide comet named Hartley 2. It will use its telescopes and other instruments to examine the surface and record gas outbursts.

Five years ago, Deep Impact created cosmic fireworks when it released a probe into Comet Tempel 1. The resulting collision gave scientists their first glimpse of a comet's interior.

The spacecraft was tapped for another mission to rendezvous with Comet Hartley 2. Since September, it has been taking images of its target.

The flyby on Nov. 4 will be the fifth time that a comet has been viewed close up.