NASA developing comet harpoon for sample returnDecember 13th,
2011 in Space & Earth / Space Exploration This is an artist's
concept of a comet harpoon embedded in a comet. The harpoon tip
has been rendered semi-transparent so the sample collection
chamber inside can be seen. Credit: NASA/Chris Meaney/Walt
Feimer (PhysOrg.com) -- The best way to grab a sample of a
rotating comet that is racing through the inner solar system at
up to 150,000 miles per hour while spewing chunks of ice, rock
and dust may be to avoid the risky business of landing on it.
Instead, researchers want to send a spacecraft to rendezvous
with a comet, then fire a harpoon to rapidly acquire samples
from specific locations with surgical precision while hovering
above the target. Using this "standoff" technique would allow
samples to be collected even from areas that are much too rugged
or dangerous to permit the landing and safe operation of a
spacecraft. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md. are in the early st