Comets from the Oort cloud are both ancient and rare. Since this is Comet Siding Spring’s first trip through the inner solar system, scientists are excited to learn more about its composition and the effects of its gas and dust on the Mars upper atmosphere.
NASA will be watching closely before, during, and after the flyby with its entire fleet of Mars orbiters and rovers, along with the Hubble Space Telescope and dozens of instruments on Earth. The encounter is certain to teach us more about Oort cloud comets, the Martian atmosphere, and the solar system’s earliest ingredients.",
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For complete transcript, click here.", "items": [ { "id": 287905, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 450167, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011700/a011716/comet2_print.jpg", "filename": "comet2_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1024, "height": 1024, "pixels": 1048576 } }, { "id": 287906, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 450168, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011700/a011716/comet2_searchweb.png", "filename": "comet2_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 287907, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 450169, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011700/a011716/comet2_web.png", "filename": "comet2_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } }, { "id": 287908, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 450170, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011700/a011716/comet2_thm.png", "filename": "comet2_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } }, { "id": 287904, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 450166, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011700/a011716/comet2.mov", "filename": "comet2.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 640, "height": 640, "pixels": 409600 } }, { "id": 287909, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 450171, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011700/a011716/comet2.webmhd.webm", "filename": "comet2.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 339895, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11716/#media_group_339895", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [http://mars.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/](http://mars.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "PAO" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Michael Lentz", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Joy Ng", "employer": "USRA" }, { "name": "Dan Gallagher", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Narration", "people": [ { "name": "Dan Gallagher", "employer": "USRA" }, { "name": "Joy Ng", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Narrator", "people": [ { "name": "Joy Ng", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Project support", "people": [ { "name": "Aaron E. 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To witness this historic event, NASA has mobilized an entire fleet of rovers, orbiters, Earth observatories and space telescopes.For complete transcript, click here.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.\r", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 4222, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4222/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Sun view of Comet Siding Spring and the Mars orbiting fleet", "description": "This visualization shows active spacecraft orbiting Mars and their relationship to Comet Siding Spring. The comet passes very close to Mars on October 19, 2014. The camera is looking from the direction of the Sun towards Mars. The camera is fixed to Mars and the orbit trail of Mars goes off to the right.As Comet Siding-Spring makes its way through the Martian neighborhood it reaches the closest distance at about 18:32 UT. Debris left by the comet follows behind the comet on the line representing where the comet was. This derbis impacts Mars at about 20:08 UT. Scientists and engineers are concerned that the derbis may harm the spacecraft. Several of the spacecraft have executed orbital maneuvers to put them on the opposite side of Mars when the debris impacts. || ", "release_date": "2014-10-16T11:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:50:25.362697-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 452957, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004200/a004222/CLOSE_fixed_from_sun02.12074_print.jpg", "filename": "CLOSE_fixed_from_sun02.12074_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comet Siding-Spring moves through the Martian system", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 20215, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20215/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "Comet Siding Spring and Mars", "description": "NASA's MAVEN spacecraft observes Comet Siding Spring during its encounter with Mars. || Comet_Passing_Mars_0072000702_print.jpg (1024x576) [65.5 KB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_00720_print.jpg (1024x576) [78.4 KB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_00720_searchweb.png (320x180) [56.8 KB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_00720_web.png (320x180) [56.8 KB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_00720_thm.png (80x40) [4.2 KB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_FINAL.mov (1920x1080) [1004.7 MB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_h264_FINAL.mov (1920x1080) [34.4 MB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [13.7 MB] || CometPassing (1920x1080) [128.0 KB] || Comet_Passing_Mars_1080.webm (960x540) [2.1 MB] || ", "release_date": "2014-10-14T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:50:26.951933-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 450556, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020215/Comet_Passing_Mars_00720_print.jpg", "filename": "Comet_Passing_Mars_00720_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "NASA's MAVEN spacecraft observes Comet Siding Spring during its encounter with Mars.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 4192, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4192/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Mars Fleet and Comet Siding Spring", "description": "This visualization shows NASA’s fleet of Mars orbiters, landers, and rovers during the planet’s close encounter with Comet Siding Spring. C/2013 A1, better known as Comet Siding Spring, will make a remarkably close pass of Mars on October 19, 2014. At closest approach, Comet Siding Spring will come within 82,000 miles of the Red Planet – just one-third of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. During the flyby, NASA will position its Mars fleet both to protect it from comet dust, and to make observations of the comet and its effects on the upper atmosphere of Mars. || ", "release_date": "2014-10-09T14:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:50:27.265515-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 452942, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004100/a004192/mars_fleet06_blur180.10200_print.jpg", "filename": "mars_fleet06_blur180.10200_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Several landers and orbiting spacraft are shown followed by their position relative to comet Siding Spring", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 4212, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4212/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Comet Siding Spring wide shots", "description": "These visualizations show MAVEN and Comet Siding Spring making their way through the solar system to a close encounter near Mars. Two wide angle views are included. The first one maintains a fixed camera above the ecliptic plane of the solar system. The second one moves the camera in a bit closer and more parallel with the ecliptic plane as the comet and MAVEN encounter the Martian region. || ", "release_date": "2014-09-30T15:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:50:30.111214-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 451887, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004200/a004212/comet_wide_fixed11.2700_print.jpg", "filename": "comet_wide_fixed11.2700_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A fixed camera view from above the ecliptic plane showing MAVEN and Comet Siding-Spring encountering Mars", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }