A new mission could rendezvous with Halley's Comet in 2061
Halley's Comet captures the imagination in a way that few other astronomical objects do. When it last made its approach toward the sun (admittedly when this author, who is now middle-aged, was 1 year old in 1986), humanity responded with a fleet of spacecraft known informally as the "Halley Armada." Yet because of the comet's trajectory, those spacecraft were only able to visit their target for a…
In 1986, Halley's Comet made a close approach to the sun, sparking worldwide interest in space exploration. However, the brief encounters of previous spacecraft, like Giotto and Vega, only provided limited data due to the comet's extreme inclination and retrograde orbit. To gather more comprehensive information, a new mission concept has been proposed by researchers at Khalifa University.
This mission would employ a double gravity-assist trajectory, utilizing Jupiter and Saturn's gravitational fields to match the comet's high inclination orbit without requiring additional chemical propellant. By launching with a relatively small payload and using low-power Hall-effect thrusters, the spacecraft could reach Halley's Comet in 2060, just before its perihelion, and observe the comet's transformation with a variety of scientific instruments.
The mission requires a launch window between 2036 and 2037, providing about 10 years to prepare for the ambitious 20-year journey.
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- A New Mission Could Rendezvous With Halley's Comet In 2061 universetoday.com
