NASA probe Deep Space 1 [ http://nmp.jpl.nasa…] zoomed past asteroid 9969 Braille [ http://www2.jpl.nas…] last week as it continued to test its new ion drive [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the inner Solar System [ http://www.seds.org…]. The flyby was the closest approach a spacecraft has ever made to an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Looking back afterwards, DS1 took the above picture [ http://www.jpl.nasa…]. Formerly known as 1992 KD, the 9969th asteroid discovered was renamed in honor of Louis Braille [ http://www.cnib.ca/…], a pioneer in written communication for the blind. 9969 Braille [ http://huey.jpl.nas…] is thought by some to have collided with asteroid Vesta [ http://oposite.stsc…] in the distant past and broken up, providing debris for many of the meteorites [ http://www.seds.org…] that fall to Earth. Asteroid [ http://www.hawastso…] 9969 Braille rotates only once in 9 days, and has an orbit greatly tilted relative to the ecliptic plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the planets.
Explanation
NASA probe Deep Space 1 [ http://nmp.jpl.nasa…] zoomed past asteroid 9969 Braille [ http://www2.jpl.nas…] last week as it continued to test its new ion drive [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the inner Solar System [ http://www.seds.org…]. The flyby was the closest approach a spacecraft has ever made to an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Looking back afterwards, DS1 took the above picture [ http://www.jpl.nasa…]. Formerly known as 1992 KD, the 9969th asteroid discovered was renamed in honor of Louis Braille [ http://www.cnib.ca/…], a pioneer in written communication for the blind. 9969 Braille [ http://huey.jpl.nas…] is thought by some to have collided with asteroid Vesta [ http://oposite.stsc…] in the distant past and broken up, providing debris for many of the meteorites [ http://www.seds.org…] that fall to Earth. Asteroid [ http://www.hawastso…] 9969 Braille rotates only once in 9 days, and has an orbit greatly tilted relative to the ecliptic plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the planets.
