This image shows NASA Deep Impact spacecraft being built at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colo. on July 2, 2005. The spacecraft impactor was released from Deep Impact flyby spacecraft.

NASA Deep Impact awaits launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. on Jan. 12, 2005.

When NASA Deep Impact probe collided with Tempel 1, a bright, small flash was created, which rapidly expanded above the surface of the comet. This flash lasted for more than a second.

This image of Tempel 1 is a compilation of nine images that were taken on June 15, 2005 by NASA Deep Impact spacecraft.

This image of Tempel 1 is a compilation of nine images that were taken on June 15, 2005 by NASA Deep Impact spacecraft.

This artist concept gives us a look at the moment of impact and the forming of the crater.

The high speed of NASA Deep Impact spacecraft causes it to appear as a long streak across the sky in the constellation Virgo during the 10-minute exposure time of this photograph taken by Mr. Palomar 200-inch telescope.

Taken on April 25, 2005, sixty-nine days before it gets up-close-and-personal with a comet, NASA Deep Impact spacecraft successfully photographed its quarry, comet Tempel 1, at a distance of 39.7 million miles.

This image is a compilation of four images that were taken on June 13, 2005 by NASA Deep Impact. The spacecraft is 18,675,137.9 kilometers 11,604,190 miles away from comet Tempel 1.

Impact on the Ice

Blasted by Impacts

Diversity of Impacts

Impressive Impact

Impact Crater

Ancient Impacts

Triple Impact

Impact Crater

Oblique Impact

Impact Crater

The Impact of Cratering

Oblique Impact

Ives Impact

Powerful Impact

Impact Crater

Impact Craters

Young Impact

Double Impact

Impact Central

Bouldery Impact

Icy Impact

Northern Impact

This image of NASA Deep Impact impactor probe was taken by the mission mother ship, or flyby spacecraft, after the two separated at 11:07 p.m. Pacific time, July 2 2:07 a.m. Eastern time, July 3, 2005.

This frame from an animation series of images of comet C/2012 S1 ISON was taken by the Medium-Resolution Imager of NASA Deep Impact spacecraft over a 36-hour period on Jan. 17 and 18, 2013.

Geologists love roadcuts because they reveal the bedrock stratigraphy (layering). Until we have highways on Mars, we can get the same information from fresh impact craters as shown in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This image reveals these layers filling a larger crater, perhaps a combination of lava, impact ejecta, and sediments. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21631

This first image of comet 103P/Hartley 2 was taken from NASA Deep Impact spacecraft 60 days prior to the spacecraft flyby of the comet.

This image shows comet Tempel 1 six minutes before it ran over NASA Deep Impact probe at 10:52 a.m. Pacific time, July 3 1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 4, 2005.

Illustration of a CME particle cloud blasted from the sun impacting Earth and creating aurora (in actual photo of aurora as taken by an astronaut on the space station). Credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO/ESA To learn more go to the SOHO website: <a href="http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html" rel="nofollow">sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html</a> To learn more about NASA's Sun Earth Day go here: <a href="http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php" rel="nofollow">sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php</a>

Jupiter G Impact Evolution

Impact on Arsia Mons

Broad Impact on Tethys

Impact Crater with Ejecta Blanket

Eroding Layers in an Impact Crater

Fresh, Rayed Impact Crater

Bouldery Impact Ejecta

Oblique Impacts in Color

Heat Shield Impact Site

Fresh Impact Crater

Ancient Impact Basin on Europa

A Volcanic Crater in an Impact Crater

Kidney-Shaped Impact

Rhea - Multiple Impact Craters

Recently-Formed Impact Crater

Fragmented Impact Melt

Dione - Circular Impact Craters

Large Impacts Ring Twice

Impact Craters on Xanadu

Small Impact Crater

Small Impact Crater

Mimas - Large Impact Structure

Impact Melt at Necho Crater

Large Impact Structures on Europa

Remnants of the Imbrium Impact

Eight Looks at the Jupiter Impact

Lava Flow and Impact Crater

Fresh Impact Craters on Ganymede

The Tolstoj Impact Basin

The Moon Largest Impact Basin

Impact at High Noon

Overall view of the impact test range.

NASA Deep Impact Tempel 1 Mission Update. Images of impact taken with the medium resolution imager. The blue dotted line is the position of the spectrometer slit.

Langley’s historic Impact Dynamics Facility for full-scale aircraft crash testing stands on the western corner of the NASA Langley campus. In its original configuration, the “gantry” was used to train the Mercury 7

The day before the MESSENGER spacecraft impacted the surface of Mercury, the best prediction for the location and time of the impact was 54.4° N, 210.1° E, on 30 April 2015 at 19.26:02 UTC, as shown in the featured image of that day. In the last month since impact, MESSENGER engineers have completed the final and most accurate determination of where the MESSENGER spacecraft impacted Mercury's surface. The determination indicates that the spacecraft impacted into a part of Mercury's surface that has a gradual incline with an approximate slope of 8.5°. The final estimate of the impact location is at 54.4398° N, 210.1205° E, and 2438.790 km from the center of Mercury. The final determination of the impact time is 19:26:01.166 UTC on 30 April 2015. Traveling at 3.912 kilometers per second (8,750 miles per hour), the MESSENGER spacecraft is estimated to have created a crater 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter at this location. This new best determination of the impact location will help the next Mercury spacecraft to identify MESSENGER's crater, such as the joint ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission, scheduled for lauch in 2017 and arrival in Mercury orbit in 2024. Bottom Image Scale: This image is roughly 130 km (81 miles) across. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19497

Impact Melt on Klute W Wall

Before-and-After Look at Impact Craters

Sample of the Argyre Impact Basin Rim

Taking the Measure of Impact Craters on Mercury

Hunting for Ancient Lunar Impact Basins

Fresh Impact Crater and Rays in Tharsis

Tectonic Complexity in Mercury Impact Features

Dark-floored Impact Craters on Ganymede

Comet Impact Into Jupiter Artist Concept

Impact Crater Filled With Layered Deposits

Crater Ejecta and Chains of Secondary Impacts

Post-impact Modification of Klute W

Detail of an Impact Crater, Acidalia Planitia

A Small Crater Makes a Bright Impact

Large impact on Callisto Southern Hemisphere

This is a view from NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter of a very young impact crater in Balmer basin. The dark streamers are impact melt splashes thrown out during the crater formation.

The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security -- Regolith Explorer spacecraft (OSIRIS-REx) will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu, and bring a sample back to Earth for study. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth. OSIRIS-REx is scheduled for launch in late 2016. As planned, the spacecraft will reach its asteroid target in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023. Watch the full video: <a href="http://youtu.be/gtUgarROs08" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/gtUgarROs08</a> Learn more about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission and the making of Bennu’s Journey: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/bennus-journey/" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/bennus-journey/</a> More information on the OSIRIS-REx mission is available at: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/index.html</a> <a href="http://www.asteroidmission.org" rel="nofollow">www.asteroidmission.org</a> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

This image of the surface of comet Tempel 1 was taken about 20 seconds before NASA Deep Impact probe crashed into the comet on July 3, 2005. This particular region contains the impact site.

This image shows the initial ejecta that resulted when NASA Deep Impact probe collided with comet Tempel 1 on July 3, 2005. It was taken by the spacecraft high-resolution camera 13 seconds after impact.

This false-color image shows comet Tempel 1 about 50 minutes after NASA Deep Impact probe smashed into its surface. The impact site is located on the far side of the comet in this view.

The image depicts the first moments after NASA Deep Impact probe interfaced with comet Tempel 1. The illuminated, and possibly incandescent, debris is expanding from the impact site.

This image is from an animation that chronicles the travels of NASA Deep Impact spacecraft, from its launch in January of 2005 to its dramatic impact 172 days later with comet Tempel 1.

Bright Halo Impact Crater on Ganymede http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00357

Pilot Fitz Fulton in CID (Controlled Impact Demonstration) Simulator

A schematic shows the daytime cycle of hydration, loss and rehydration on the lunar surface. This theory is based on data from NASA Deep Impact mission.

Frozen impact melt flows on the ejecta blanket of the young impact crater Giordano Bruno in this image from NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

This image from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows impact craters.

The craters in this NAC image display a variety of interesting characteristics. Visible in the lower half of this image are several overlapping impact craters.