"Mars spacecraft preparing for Comet Siding Spring's close flyby"

[div class=excerpt style=background:#AFEEEE]Mars spacecraft preparing for Comet Siding Spring's close flyby

Posted by The Watcher on July 26, 2014 in categories C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring)

As Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring heads toward a close flyby of Mars on October 19, 2014, NASA and ESA are both taking steps to protect their Mars orbiters, while still preserving opportunities to gather valuable scientific data. Six days after passing Mars, the comet will reach its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) at about 209 million km (130 million miles).

It will be the second comet to visit Mars in 12 months, following Comet ISON in October 2013. ISON passed some 10 000 000 km from the planet, but Siding Spring will flyby much closer. Current estimates put Siding Spring's miss distance at just about 132 000 km (82 000 miles) from the surface.

The comet's nucleus will be shedding material hurtling at about 56 kilometers (35 miles) per second, relative to Mars and Mars-orbiting spacecraft. At that velocity, even the smallest particle - estimated to be about half a millimeter (one-fiftieth of an inch) across - could cause significant damage to a spacecraft.

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http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2014/07/26/nasa-prepares-its-mars-spacecrafts-for-comet-siding-spring-close-flyby/

82,000 miles is one-third the distance from the earth to the moon. This comet will be CLOSE to Mars!!!