Space Probe Gets Close Look at Giant Asteroid

Rosetta, a spacecraft specially designed to be used when inspecting comets, came within 1900 miles of the mysterious Lutetia asteroid, giving scientists a better look at this phenomenon. First discovered over 150 years ago, the giant hurtling rock still puzzles astronomers who are trying to determine whether its composition is that of the rock and carbon, or a metallic blend of substances.

While the regular mission is to rendezvous with asteroid 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, the craft was able to snap some high quality pictures as it flew past at a rate greater than 9.3 miles per second. Researchers are hoping that these photos will provide a greater glimpse into the make up of this giant asteroid, which in turn will help to decipher the age old mystery of how our solar system was formed.

There is also the possibility that this new data can help to provide new strategies for diverting other space objects from impacting Earth. In the past, many collisions have happened that possibly could be avoided if the action could be planned sooner. With the ability to project trajectories of these asteroids, it is hoped that they could be destroyed with enough time to spare.

The 3 ton Rosetta is one of the newest spacecraft types to be used in this type of mission. If the data can be compared to observations on this planet, there is a good chance that an alternative method could be calculated in the event of an impending collision with Earth.
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