Wednesday, May 5, 2010

‘Wet’ asteroid could be a space gas station
[ Wed, 5 May 2010 15:53:40 GMT ]

An illustration of the asteroid 24 Themis along with two small fragments that orbit with it. One of the small fragments is inert (as most asteroids are) and the other has a comet-like tail, produced by the sublimation of water ice from its surface. Scientists announced the first discovery of water ice on 24 Themis. Gabriel Pérez, Servicio MultiMedia, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, SpainSpace.com: The recent discovery of an asteroid wrapped in a layer of water ice has revived the possibility that some space rocks would be great potential pit stops — as well as destinations – for manned or robotic exploration missions.


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