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(meteorobs) [ASTRO] A humming bird approach to comet probes
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From: Larry Klaes <lklaes@BBN.COM>
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 09:14:06 -0400
Subject: [ASTRO] A humming bird approach to comet probes
CLOSING IN ON COMETS
A hovering hummingbird dips in and out of a deep flower with its long bill,
extracting nectar in a fleeting visit. Now the touch-and-go techniques of
this small bird have inspired a NASA mission to check out comets. A space
probe will be equipped with dangling tethers and will use "bump sampling"
strategies to dig deep into the very core of a comet. The space agency hopes
its Hummingbird will capture deep-frozen material left over from the big
bang. "What I think is the most interesting question to answer is the
relationships of comets to material that ended up on the early Earth and
took part in the origin of life," says Glenn Carle of the Ames Research
Center in Moffett Field, California.
http://www.newscientist.com/nl/0422/touch.html
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