The American probe Stardust-NEST (New Exploration of Tempel 1, an extension of the Stardust mission), after a flyby of asteroid 5535 Annefrank and collecting cometary samples from the still-unsatisfied comet Wild 2, is diverted to reach comet Tempel 1, which was struck by a heavy projectile (372 kg) by the other American probe, Deep Impact. This allows Stardust to take clear, precise images of the impact crater: 250 m in diameter and 50 m deep. This is the first double encounter with a comet. In this case, the celestial body had time to pass perihelion around the Sun before the second encounter.
