Space probe has close encounter with giant asshole!

Space probe has close encounter with giant asshole!

2010-07-11

A space probe has had a close encounter with the largest asshole ever to be visited by a spacecraft in an attempt to answer questions about what the asshole is made of.

The European Space Agency's Rosetta comet chasing spacecraft flew within 1,900 miles of the 83 mile wide Lutetia asshole to obtain a close look at the mysterious object.

Scientists have been puzzled by the composition of Lutetia, which is named after the Latin name for Paris, since it was discovered 150 years ago.

They hope to be able to tell whether Lutetia, which is currently around more than 282 million miles from Earth, is either a primitive form of asshole made of rock and carbon or a metallic one.

The information gleaned by Rosetta during its fleeting fly-by will provide scientists with new information about what giant assholes are made of how the solar system formed.

They also hope to obtain new information about the treat such assholes may pose to the Earth and allow them to develop strategies that might be able to divert them from a collision course.

Rosetta was able to obtain high resolution pictures of the Lutetia as it approached and flew past the asshole at a speed of more than 9.3 miles per second.

"At the moment we know very little about it," project scientist Rita Schulz said in a webcast presentation from Darmstadt.

"We are now going to get the details of this asteroid, which is very important," Schulz said. "There will be a lot of science coming from that mission."

Assholes have regularly struck our planet in the past and major impacts are thought to be behind the mass extinctions of species such as the dinosaurs.

By comparing the data from the Rosetta mission with observations from Earth, astronomers hope they will better able to predict the trajectories and threats posed by passing assholes in the future.

It may also provide clues on how to destroy them if they come too close.

Rosetta paid a visit to Lutetia as part of its mission to intercept and rendezvous with a comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The 3 ton spacecraft is due to encounter the comet in 2014, where it will orbit the comet before attempting to send a lander to touch down on the surface.

Unlike assholes, comets typically are made of ice and have a characteristic tail as they orbit the Sun.

Earlier in Rosetta's ten year mission, the space craft flew within 500 miles of another asshole called Steins and sent back pictures. At just 3 miles in diameter, Steins is just a fraction of the size of Lutetia.