Saving the World by Harpooning a Comet

by | Dec 28, 2011 | Current Events

Comets are thought to be the perfect specimens to study the primordial stuff that created our solar system. These icy objects can speed through the inner solar system at up to 150,000 miles per hour after making the long journey from the outer reaches of our Sun’s gravitational influence. As you might imagine, collecting samples from these fleeting visitors can be very difficult. Landing on one is probably out of the question considering their uneven surfaces; however, NASA scientists have come up with a clever idea to get around this difficulty. Instead of landing they will have a craft “hover” over the surface of the comet and fire a harpoon to rapidly collect samples from different locations around the comet.Currently in testing, the firing device is positioned to fire vertically downward into a bucket of target material. It cannot be positioned upward because if it accidentally fires, it could potentially launch a test harpoon tip about a mile! An mechanical winch pulls the bow back to generate enough force to fire the harpoons up to 100 feet per second. The test material is a mix of sand, salt, pebbles, but nobody is sure what they will encounter on the comet itself. It could be a combination of things like the test bed, or it could be mostly dust or even solid rock. This is the tricky part of the harpoon engineering. Most likely the comet will be composed differently in different areas, so the design must be capable of penetrating different types of materials.Also in testing, the harpoon tip must contain a hollow chamber to store the samples collected....
New Graduate School Guide Glossary

New Graduate School Guide Glossary

by | Oct 26, 2011 | Quick Notes

Now it is easier than ever to find advice on navigating your way to and around graduate school. Presenting the newest Astrobites Glossary:Astrobites’ Graduate School GuideHere we have compiled career navigation posts from regular and guest Astrobite authors about how to prepare yourself for and survive graduate school. Everything from deciding if graduate school is really what you want, to applying to and visiting schools, and even balancing life and work. There is an endless amount of topics still to be covered, so keep an eye out for new graduate school astrobites in the...