On January 12, 2005, NASA launched the Deep Impact mission, which crashed into comet Tempel 1 (also known as 9P/Tempel). The mission launched two spacecraft simultaneously: a Volkswagen Beetle-sized flyby and a coffee-table-sized impactor. The mission will study the comet’s interior by slamming into its surface and taking pictures of the impact crater and all the dust and dirt it kicked into space. Deep Impact was launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket and spent nearly six months chasing the comet before crashing.
