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WEEKLY NEWS 1: NASA To Make Cosmic Fireworks

NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) recently launched a spacecraft called Deep Impact into space. The purpose of this spacecraft is to get to a comet named Tempel 1. Deep Impact should reach Tempel 1 in about six months.

So what's the purpose of Deep Impact? Scientists know that comets are made of rocks, ice and dust, but they want to find out more.

When Deep Impact collides with Tempel 1, scientists think it will release comet material into space. Scientists plan the collision to happen on July 4, meaning that there might be fireworks from space for the United States’s 229th birthday. But to see the fireworks, a telescope will be needed because the comet is too far from Earth to see with the naked eye.

Some comets are porous, like a kitchen sponge, and others are tighter, like a snowball. The fireworks should happen if the comet is porous. If it isn’t, then the spacecraft will just create a little crater on the surface of the comet.

Tempel 1 is nine miles long and about four miles wide, so Deep Impact won’t break it apart or change its course. Deep Impact is not just a rocket. It also carries with it equipment with which to take pictures. Along with finding out what a comet is made of, scientists can also see what one looks like close up. NASA scientists will be watching the collision through Deep Impact's cameras and with their powerful telescopes.

--Written by Amelise Javier

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