International Cometary Explorer
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The International Cometary Explorer (ICE) spacecraft was originally known as International Sun/Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3) satellite, launched August 12, 1978. It, along with ISEE-1 and ISEE-2, were designed to study the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind.
ISEE-3 originally operated in a "halo" orbit about the L1 libration point. On June 10, 1982, after completing its original mission, ISEE-3 was renamed ICE and diverted from its halo orbit to perform a new mission. Using the gravitational instability of the Earth/Moon and Earth/Sun Lagrange points, the spacecraft made a series of lunar orbits, making its closest pass on December 22, 1983. On June 5, 1985, ICE passed through the plasma tail of the Giacobini-Zinner comet. Due to the nature of its original mission, ICE carried no cameras. It instead carried instruments for measurements of energetic particles, waves, plasmas, and fields.
In March 1986 ICE, along with Giotto, Vega 1 and 2, Suisei and Sakigake, participated in rendezvous missions with Comet Halley.
ICE was shutdown in May 1997. It may be possible to capture the spacecraft in 2014, when it again makes a close approach to Earth. If the craft is recovered, it has already been donated by NASA to the Smithsonian Institute.
External links
| Halley Armada | |
|---|---|
| Giotto | Vega 1/Vega 2 | Suisei | Sakigake | ICE | |
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