The Image NASA Didn't Want to Receive from the Deep Impact Probe | Supercut

I was one of the engineers that helped build, test, launch and operate Deep Impact. I was the Launch Conductor on Launch Day and a member of the mission operations team at JPL. At JPL I performed duties of Navigation Team Member, Activity Lead, Flight Director, and the Impactor Command and Data Handling subsystem Engineer during the encounter. Coincidentally - I left Lockheed Martin in 2000 specifically to work on Deep Impact. At Lockheed Martin I helped with Mars Global Surveyor, Stardust , and Genesis. So, while it was a let down missing the image of the crater with the DI Flyby HRI Instrument (the "Primary Science" of DI), it was going to be my OTHER Trusty spacecraft to come along and get the image. It was especially important because the images that stardust took were through the Instrument that I was personally responsible for and integrated onto the Stardust Spacecraft, the "Navigation Camera". It was some leftover parts of a Voyager flight Camera with a Cassini CCD in place of the old phot-multiplier tube.

I had an accidental eruption once but mom said it was perfectly normal and I shouldn't feel embarrassed about it.

"The image NASA didn't want to receive." "This is bad." Are the clickbait titles really necessary? Do you really think people would not be interested in comets otherwise?

Alternate Title: That Time NASA Punched A Comet Really Hard for Science

Great video and educational... but I have one question. What was the image that NASA didn't want to receive from the Deep Impact Probe?

This was utterly enthralling and quietly mind-blowing. The precision required to do any of this is incredible and the findings are fundamental. Thanks for bringing these projects to a wider audience

No matter how far technology progresses, mathematical laws remain. It’s actually incredible what has been achieved using the study of trajectories and the dedication and money that goes into each of these missions.

The music in this video is by Stellardrone. The track being played is Eternity. Probably one of the best bits of spacemusic ever created.

Fantastic. Spot on! I worked on the DI spacecraft flight software from proposal to end of mission. Temple 1 impact and Hartley-2 flyby. I was at JPL for all mission ops. Best time of my life. Such a great team, great mission and great science. Thank you for this superb video.

I watched the live report of Giotto's fly-by of Halley's comet as a kid and was riveted to the screen and commentary. I spent 3 weeks tracking Halley's across the night sky, and though it wasn't particularly visually spectacular, I was hooked on astronomy. Hale/Bopp gave me that stunning majesty I always expected of a comet to the unaided eye. I was bowled over by it's gorgeous beauty and would stare at it for hours. When I pointed it out to my girlfriend in the clear air of a mountain top, her eyes were like saucers and she was almost speechless.

Hi Alex. I know you realise how unbelievably important your productions are but id like to give you from my point of view why they are so. Im a late 40 year old, spent most of my life wt sea and am well travelled. I speak 7 languages but one language i cannot get my head round is the language of space. I dont understand space and the universe at all. You manage to bring all of that noise thrown at the general populous of the earth and turn it into something understandable and bring it alive. Believe it or not your videos have even brought my own life more interesting, things i see here on earth now take on a whole new meaning. Now when im at sea looking up at the stars, i now hive a small understanding of what is going on above me. So thank you. Dont give nupnmaking them.

Damn, that little bit about Stardust restin at the end made me a little emotional. feeling feels over a satellite. wild.

I've known only a few scientists in my 70 years. I am referring not just to folks who have degrees but people who actually who ask good questions and go about answering them with discipline and dedication. They seem driven to me. In fact I asked one "Why did you become a scientist?" and the answer was, "I never had a choice. I count myself very fortunate to have known my life's direction. I knew what I was going to do." And so he went on to educate himself and holds a few patents, published papers. Listening to this... Astrum reminded me of this. And I'm willing to bet that if we asked him why he makes these videos his answer would be close to "I never had a choice."

I’ve been recommending you to people I know who aren’t particularly familiar or very interested in these subjects by describing you as the David Attenborough of the Solar System. I use this comparison because just like Attenborough you bring forth the wonder and complexities of the natural world to the masses in such a marvellously detailed way. It’s digestible and enthralling. And once again similar to David Attenborough you are completely unique in the way you convey and portray the information on the subject. I screen recorded this intro to this video to give them an idea because of how beautifully you put into perspective our historical interpretations of comets to our current capabilities to explore and interact with the seemingly unobtainable aspects of the sky above us. It was truely inspirational to me and the people in my life I try to share your channel with. Thank you for your passion and efforts. I’ve been on this channel back in the early days when you began your planetary solar system videos and it’s wonderful to see your growth and success, it’s well deserved! Thank you and thank you again and again.

As much as I am not a math guy, I find beauty in the accuracy, precision and stunning amount of work that must have went into such a project and goal. To be this precise twice in a row. Kudos to the scientists that achieved this for all to see.

The mathematical precision is mind-boggling.

Astrum, your attention to detail is on another level. Another brilliant video! In a world full of TikTok and YouTube short videos. It's hard to keep people captived and watching for 30 minutes. Yet, you manage to do that, thank you! Always looking forward to the next video!

I'd hit the character limit before I could properly say how good this is.

I remember Halley’s Comet in the 1980’s. we live in Marin County in Northern California, just over the Go,den Gate Bridge from San Francisco. Because the air is fresh and right off the Pacific, the nights are carpets of stars. For a week or so back then, Halley’s Comet hung in our western sky, silent, seemingly fixed, but actually moving lower and lower every night, on the western horizon. It was beautiful. On one hand, it was technical and scientific display, covered in the local media and television; on the other, and awe inspiring demonstration of what our ancestors had seen… a silent messenger in the heavens. Thanks for this videp.

"Let's crash into the sunny side so there is better lighting for our pictures" Then the sunlight on the crater heats the newly exposed ice enough causing the ice to melt and evaporate, creating a cloud of gas and dust so they couldn't see the crater at all. They are some of the smartest people on Earth. They can design, build, and send a probe to a small comet. But they overlooked the simple things. They didn't think about the effect of sunlight and heat on the ice inside the comet. The reason comets have tails. That sounds about right.