NASA scientists are jubilant, Deep Impact’s Impactor has scored a direct hit on the Tempel One Comet.

Mission control in Pasedena, California described the operation as a stunning success, and the images seem to confirm that view. It was supposed to be as difficult as hitting a bullet with another bullet, only at more than 130 million kilometres away. That achieved, the scientists will get back to the task of analysing the images being sent from the remaining space-craft, Deep Impact. The impactor which NASA says struck with pin-point precision appears to have a created a sizeable storm on the comet. So far so good but it will take a little longer to find out what the crater and the dust storm will reveal about the origins of our solar system.

Copyright © 2012 euronews