EPOXI

EPOXI

Illustration of the Deep Impact space probe used on EPOXI mission.
Operator NASA / JPL
Major contractors Ball Aerospace, JPL
Mission type Flyby
Launch date 2005-01-12 18:47:08 UTC
(10 years, 3 months and 19 days ago) [1][2]
Carrier rocket Delta II-7925
Launch site Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Space Launch Complex 17B, Florida, U.S.
Mission duration Contact with probe lost, Mission canceled.
Flyby of Hartley 2
COSPAR ID 2005-001A
Homepage EPOXI website
Mass 650 kg (1,430 lb)
Power 620.0 W

EPOXI is a NASA unmanned space mission led by the University of Maryland using the existing Deep Impact vehicle to begin a new series of observations. It first investigated extrasolar planets and, on November 4, 2010, it performed a close approach to the comet 103P/Hartley (alternately named Hartley 2).[3] The new mission was originally announced on 3 July 2007 as including flyby of comet 85P/Boethin, but Boethin was too small and faint for its orbit to be calculated accurately, so the mission was subsequently retargeted for a 103P/Hartley flyby.[4] NASA and the University of Maryland confirmed funding for the 103P/Hartley flyby in news releases issued on December 13, 2007.[5][6]

EPOXI combines two targets: the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI), and the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh). Deep Impact will conduct both missions, the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization during the cruise phase to 103P/Hartley, and the Deep Impact Extended Investigation at flyby. The spacecraft was also used as a test platform for a delay-tolerant networking transmission while at a distance of 20 million miles from Earth.[7]

In December 2011, and then later in October 2012,[8] the spacecraft fired its thrusters to target (163249) 2002 GT, near-earth asteroid in hopes of intercepting it for study in 2020.[9]

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California manages EPOXI for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Principal Investigator is Michael A'Hearn.[6]

On August 8, 2013, communications with the spacecraft were lost. The mission team determined the source of the problem on August 30, and attempted to restore communications.[10]

On September 20, 2013, NASA abandoned further attempts to contact the craft and declared the mission lost.[11]

Mission

The Deep Impact mission was finished with the visit to comet Tempel 1. But the spacecraft still had plenty of maneuvering fuel left, so NASA approved a second mission, called EPOXI (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Deep Impact Extended Investigation), which included a visit to a second comet (DIXI component) as well as observations of extrasolar planets (EPOCh component).[12]

Comet Boethin lost

On July 21, 2005, Deep Impact executed a trajectory correction maneuver that placed the spacecraft on course to fly past Earth on December 31, 2007. The maneuver allowed the spacecraft to use Earth's gravity to begin a new mission in a path towards another comet. In January 2008 Deep Impact began studying the stars with several known extrasolar planets in an attempt to find other such stars nearby. The larger of the spacecraft's two telescopes attempts to find the planets using the transit method.[12]

The initial plan was for a December 5, 2008 flyby of Comet Boethin, with the spacecraft coming within 435 miles (700 km). The spacecraft did not carry a second impactor to collide with the comet and would observe the comet to compare it to various characteristics found on 9P/Tempel. A'Hearn, the Deep Impact team leader reflected on the upcoming project at that time: "We propose to direct the spacecraft for a flyby of Comet Boethin to investigate whether the results found at Comet Tempel 1 are unique or are also found on other comets."[13] He explained that the mission would provide only about half of the information collected during the collision with Tempel 1 but at a fraction of the cost.[13] (EPOXI’s low mission cost of $40 million is achieved by reusing the existing Deep Impact spacecraft.) Deep Impact would use its spectrometer to study the comet's surface composition and its telescopes for viewing the surface features.[12]

Animation of the Moon transiting the Earth on 28–29 May 2008 by EPOXI.

However, as the Earth gravity assist approached, astronomers were unable to locate Comet Boethin, which is too faint to be observed. Consequently, its orbit could not be calculated with sufficient precision to permit a flyby. Instead, the team decided to send Deep Impact to comet 103P/Hartley requiring an extra two years. NASA approved the additional funding required and retargeted the spacecraft.[14] Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory began redirecting EPOXI on November 1, 2007. They commanded the spacecraft to perform a three-minute rocket burn that changed the spacecraft's velocity. EPOXI’s new trajectory set the stage for three Earth flybys, the first on December 31, 2007. This placed the spacecraft into an orbital "holding pattern" so that it could encounter comet 103P/Hartley in 2010.

"It's exciting that we can send the Deep Impact spacecraft on a new mission that combines two totally independent science investigations, both of which can help us better understand how solar systems form and evolve," said in December 2007 Deep Impact leader and University of Maryland astronomer Michael A'Hearn who is principal investigator for both the overall EPOXI mission and its DIXI component.[6]

In June 2009,[15] EPOXI's spectrometer scanned the Moon on its way to Hartley, and discovered traces of "water or hydroxyl", confirming a Moon Mineralogy Mapper observation — a discovery announced in late September, 2009.[16]

EPOCh

Before the 2008 flyby to re-orient for the comet 103P/Hartley encounter, the spacecraft used High Resolution Instrument, the larger of its two telescopes, to perform photometric observations of previously discovered transiting extrasolar planets from January to August 2008.[17] The goal of photometric observations is to measure the quantity of light, not necessarily resolve an image. An aberration in the primary mirror of the HRI [18] allowed the HRI to spread the light from observations over more pixels without saturating the CCD, effectively obtaining better data. A total of 198,434 images were exposed.[19] EPOCh's goals were to study the physical properties of giant planets and search for rings, moons and planets[20] as small as three Earth masses.[21] It also looked at Earth as though it were an extrasolar planet to provide data that could characterize Earth-type planets for future missions, and it imaged the Earth over 24 hours to capture the Moon passing in front on 2008-05-29.[17]

Planetary systems observed
Star Constellation Distance (ly) Planet
XO-2 Lynx 486 b
Gliese 436 Leo 33.48 b
BD+36°2593 Boötes 1010 HAT-P-4b
GSC 03089-00929 Hercules 1300 TrES-3
WASP-3 Lyra 727 b
GSC 03549-02811 Draco 718 TrES-2
HAT-P-7 Cygnus 1044 b

Comet flyby

See also: 103P/Hartley
The nucleus of comet 103P/Hartley measuring approximately 2 kilometers in length and .4 kilometers at its most narrow portion or neck. Jets can be seen streaming out of the nucleus.

The spacecraft used Earth's gravity for the second gravity assist in December 2008 and made two distant flybys of Earth in June and December 2009. On May 30, 2010 it successfully fired its engines for an 11.3 second trajectory correction maneuver, for a velocity change (ΔV) of 0.1 meters per second (0.22 mph), in preparation for the third Earth flyby on June 27. Observations of 103P/Hartley began on September 5 and ended November 25, 2010.[22] For a diagram of the EPOXI solar orbits see here.

Another view of the comet, taken near closest approach.

The mission's closest approach to 103P/Hartley occurred at 10 am EDT on 4 November 2010, passing to within 694 kilometers (431 mi) of this small comet. The flyby speed was 12.3 km/s. The spacecraft employed the same suite of three science instruments—two telescopes and an infrared spectrometer—that the Deep Impact spacecraft used during its prime mission to guide an impactor into comet Tempel 1 in July 2005 and observe the results.[3]

Early results of the observations show that the comet is powered by dry ice, not water vapor as was previously thought.The images were clear enough for scientists to link jets of dust and gas with specific surface features.[3]

"When comet Boethin could not be located, we went to our backup, which is every bit as interesting but about two years farther down the road," said Tom Duxbury, EPOXI project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Hartley 2 is scientifically just as interesting as comet Boethin because both have relatively small, active nuclei," said Michael A'Hearn, principal investigator for EPOXI at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Sundry opportunities

In November 2010, EPOXI was used to make some test-training deep sky observations, using the MRI camera that is optimised for cometary imagery. Images were made of the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), the Veil Nebula (NGC6960) and the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51a).[23]

References

  1. ↑ Justin Ray (January 9, 2005). "Delta Launch Report: Overview of NASA's Deep Impact comet mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  2. ↑ "NASA Mission Dates.". Deep Impact. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 A'Hearn, M. F.; Belton, M. J. S.; Delamere, W. A.; Feaga, L. M.; Hampton, D.; Kissel, J.; Klaasen, K. P.; McFadden, L. A.; Meech, K. J.; Melosh, H. J.; Schultz, P. H.; Sunshine, J. M.; Thomas, P. C.; Veverka, J.; Wellnitz, D. D.; Yeomans, D. K.; Besse, S.; Bodewits, D.; Bowling, T. J.; Carcich, B. T.; Collins, S. M.; Farnham, T. L.; Groussin, O.; Hermalyn, B.; Kelley, M. S.; Kelley, M. S.; Li, J. -Y.; Lindler, D. J.; Lisse, C. M.; McLaughlin, S. A. (2011). "EPOXI at Comet Hartley 2". Science 332 (6036): 1396–1400. doi:10.1126/science.1204054. PMID 21680835.
  4. ↑ "NASA Gives Two Successful Spacecraft New Assignments" (Press release). NASA. July 3, 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "NASA Sends Spacecraft on Mission to Comet Hartley 2" (Press release). NASA. Dec 13, 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Deep Impact Extended Mission Heads for Comet Hartley 2" (Press release). University of Maryland. December 13, 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "First test for interplanetary net". BBC News. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  8. ↑ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-313
  9. ↑ http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/17deepimpact/
  10. ↑ http://epoxi.umd.edu/1mission/status.shtml
  11. ↑ NASA calls off search for lost Deep Impact comet probe - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Science Daily". Deep Impact Mission: Aiming For Close-ups Of Extrasolar Planets. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Skymania News". Deep Impact will fly to new comet. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  14. ↑ EPOXI Mission Status, NASA/University of Maryland, December 2, 2007.
  15. ↑ Deep Impact and Other Spacecraft Find Clear Evidence of Water on Moon: Thin layer of surface 'dew' appears to form, then dissipate each day
  16. ↑ Science, A Whiff of Water Found on the Moon
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "EPOXI Mission Status Reports". Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  18. ↑ "Beyond Deep Impact: Possible Targets After Fireworks". Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  19. ↑ Rieber, R., Sharrow, & Robert. (2009). The Contingency of Success: Operations for Deep Impact's Planet Hunt. IEEE Aerospace Conference. Big Sky, MT
  20. ↑ "Sarah Ballard: Preliminary Results from the NASA EPOXI Mission" (MOV). http://epoxi.umd.edu/4gallery/vid_DPS08.shtml''. Retrieved 2009-03-07. (at 2 minutes 20 seconds in video)
  21. ↑ "EPOXI Mission Science". Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  22. ↑ "NASA Spacecraft Burns for Home, Then Comet". NASA.
  23. ↑ Deep Sky Feasibility Demonstration, NASA, accessed 7 December 2011

External links

External images
Deep Impact trajectory