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They "crashed" it at a walking pace, at worst it's a bit twisted, definitely still an archeological curiosity. Why do that? Probably to try to get close-approac
by JulianMorrison 10y ago
They "crashed" it at a walking pace, at worst it's a bit twisted, definitely still an archeological curiosity. Why do that? Probably to try to get close-approach data that the detachable probe failed to. Why crash? I don't know if the vehicle even has the capability to retro-thrust itself to a stop but trying would be a fiddly maneuver and would likely mess up the science (puffing up an opaque cloud of dust, blasting the landing site). So approach-and-keep-going makes sense. But then the vehicle will lithobrake with predictable smashy consequences. So it's toast one way or the other; turning it off is probably just tidiness.
All the above is guesses but seems to make sense to me.
- datenwolf 10y ago> …lithobrake… Thanks for adding this to my vocabulary.
- ColinDabritz 10y agoSeconded, "performed a lithobraking maneuver" is now on my list next to "rapid unscheduled disassembly".
- pavel_lishin 10y ago> definitely still an archeological curiosity. I was going to say that it'll probably get blown off when Churyumov-Gerasimenko nears the sun, but it's already done that, and Rosetta taught us that a comet isn't just a boring spherical ice-cow that outgasses equally in all directions anyway. Maybe it'll survive to make another pass near the Earth! Maybe SpaceX will "rescue" it as a PR mission in the next few decades. It would make a pretty great addition to the Air and Space museum.
- mirimir 10y ago> ... lithobrake ... OK, can't resist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeaeqIpopvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeaeqIpopvI