NASA Developing Comet Harpoon For Sample Return

An anonymous reader writes "NASA appears to have decided that the best way to grab a sample of a rotating comet that is racing through the inner solar system at up to 150,000 miles per hour while spewing chunks of ice, rock and dust may be to avoid the risky business of landing on it. Instead, researchers want to send a spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet, then fire a harpoon to rapidly acquire samples from specific locations with surgical precision while hovering above the target."

So that's why they had harpoons

[stms]

We're whalers on the moon we carry a harpoon but there ain't no whales so we tell tall tales and sing a whaling tune.

Get the Japanese to do it.

[Anonymous Coward]

They're good at harpooning things for scientific research.

The Great White Comet?

[Dripdry]

Oh Melville, you'd be so proud!

If they succeed

[RPGillespie]

This could have a deep impact on our current understanding of ice.

Greenpeace will foil this plan . . .

[PolygamousRanchKid]

They will be out there in space in rubber boats, harassing NASA's comet hunting boat by throwing stinky paint at it, etc . . .

Although Bob Barker's last anti-whaling boat did look kinda sorta like a spacecraft already . . .

And NASA claims the comet hunting is for research purposes only. Ha! We all know better than that! The comet pieces will end up in the same place as all those "missing" moon rocks that Apollo brought back . . . in the free open rock market!

It's high time that the international community join together to ban this blood sport on endangered celestial bodies. Comets are scare and harpooning them will lead to their extinction.

When was the last time that you saw a comet in the wild?

I thought so . . .

Re:As much as I like this cool stuff

[Laz10]

You've got a chance to give birth to him yet yourself.

The chances of me giving birth to anyone are astronomical ;-)

Re:Greenpeace will foil this plan . . .

[Bardwick]

I served on a aircraft carrier pulling into Italy when Greenpeace showed up. There is nothing, I mean nothing more gratifying than watching a Greenpeace guy in his little rubber raft, coming at your carrier with a spray paint can. watching the look on his face as the 2.5" hose actually lifts him out of the raft.. He went up before he went down into the water.. Man that was fun. I only got to watch though.. sigh.