NASA probe collides with comet

NASA probe collides with comet

TOKYO, Japan - Two photos released July 4 by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan shows the Tempel 1 comet (above) before it was hit by the impactor probe from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft and the same comet (below) after the probe collided with it. (Kyodo)

Small carry-on impactor of Hayabusa2

Small carry-on impactor of Hayabusa2

Employees of Nippon Koki Co., which designed a small carry-on impactor mounted on Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe, celebrate at the company's factory in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 5, 2019, after the spacecraft ejected the impactor over the Ryugu asteroid to create an artificial crater, part of its mission 300 million kilometers from Earth. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Small carry-on impactor of Hayabusa2

Small carry-on impactor of Hayabusa2

Photo taken in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on March 20, 2019, shows a small carry-on impactor, the same type mounted on the country's Hayabusa2 space probe. Hayabusa2 ejected the impactor April 5 in an experiment to shoot a projectile onto the Ryugu asteroid, 300 million kilometers from Earth, to create an artificial crater as part of its mission to explore the origin of life and the evolution of the solar system. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hayabusa2 space mission

Hayabusa2 space mission

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency professor Takashi Kubota speaks about the Hayabusa2 space probe in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, on April 5, 2019. Hayabusa2 ejected a small impactor the same day, the first step in an experiment to shoot a projectile onto the Ryugu asteroid, 300 million kilometers from Earth, to create an artificial crater as part of its mission to explore the origin of life and the evolution of the solar system. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hayabusa2 space mission

Hayabusa2 space mission

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency professor Takashi Kubota speaks about the Hayabusa2 space probe in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, on April 5, 2019. Hayabusa2 ejected a small impactor the same day, the first step in an experiment to shoot a projectile onto the Ryugu asteroid, 300 million kilometers from Earth, to create an artificial crater as part of its mission to explore the origin of life and the evolution of the solar system. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo