EPOXI
Sign in to saveAlso known as Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization, EPOCh, Deep Impact Extended Investigation, DIXI, Extrasolar Planet Observation and Deep Impact Extended Investigation
EPOXI was a compilation of NASA Discovery program missions led by the University of Maryland and principal investigator Michael A'Hearn, with co-operation from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ball Aerospace. EPOXI uses the Deep Impact spacecraft in a campaign consisting of two missions: the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI) and Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh). DIXI aimed to send the Deep Impact spacecraft on a flyby of another comet, after its primary mission was completed in July 2005, while EPOCh saw the spacecraft's photographic instruments as a space ob
Key facts
- Spaceflight.name
- EPOXI
- Spaceflight.image
- PIA02109.jpg
- Spaceflight.image_caption
- The Deep Impact spacecraft at Ball Aerospace & Technologies in July 2004.
- Spaceflight.image_alt
- A spacecraft under construction hangs in the hallway of a laboratory as a scientist, clothed in a white protective suit, attaches scientific instruments to the spacecraft bus.
- Spaceflight.image_size
- 300
- Spaceflight.mission_type
- Flyby (85D/Boethin103P/Hartley(163249) 2002 GT) Space observatory
- Spaceflight.operator
- NASA
- Spaceflight.COSPAR_ID
- 2005-001A
- Spaceflight.mission_duration
- 8 years, 18 days
- Spaceflight.spacecraft
- Deep Impact
- Spaceflight.manufacturer
- JPLBall AerospaceUniversity of Maryland
- Spaceflight.launch_mass
- 650 kg
- Spaceflight.power
- 620.0 W
- Spaceflight.entered_service
- ( ago)
- Spaceflight.last_contact
- ( ago)
- Spaceflight.insignia
- EPOXI Mission Patch.png
- Spaceflight.insignia_caption
- Official insignia for the re-targeted DIXI mission to Hartley 2
- Spaceflight.insignia_alt
- A circle with a blue border encloses an image of a spacecraft on approach to a comet. The words "EPOXI Mission" and "Deep Impact Extended Investigation" are written along the border of the image.
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- epoxi.astro.umd.edu
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- EPOXI
via Wikidata · CC0
~9 min read
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Mission
- Comet Boethin lost
- EPOCh
- Comet flyby
- Sundry opportunities
- References
- External links
EPOXI was a compilation of NASA Discovery program missions led by the University of Maryland and principal investigator Michael A'Hearn, with co-operation from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ball Aerospace. EPOXI uses the Deep Impact spacecraft in a campaign consisting of two missions: the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI) and Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh). DIXI aimed to send the Deep Impact spacecraft on a flyby of another comet, after its primary mission was completed in July 2005, while EPOCh saw the spacecraft's photographic instruments as a space observatory, studying extrasolar planets.
DIXI successfully sent the Deep Impact spacecraft on a flyby of comet Hartley 2 on November 4, 2010, revealing a "hyperactive, small and feisty" comet, after three gravity assists from Earth in December 2007, December 2008 and June 2010. The DIXI mission was not without problems, however; the spacecraft had initially been targeted for a December 5, 2008 flyby of comet Boethin, though, the comet could not be located, and was later declared a lost comet, prompting mission planners to reorganize a flyby of an alternative target, Hartley 2. After its flyby of Hartley 2, the spacecraft was also set to make a close flyby of the Apollo asteroid (163249) 2002 GT in 2020. The mission ended after contact with the spacecraft was suddenly lost in August 2013 and attempts to re-establish contact in the following month had failed. Mission scientists theorized that a Y2K-like problem had plagued the spacecraft's software.