There are some ways NASA can learn about deep space without sending anyone – or anything – into orbit. For example, scientists are studying meteorite impacts by recreating them here on earth at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range… the gun shoots projectiles up to fifteen thousand miles per hour into materials designed to simulate the surface of the moon, Mars, and even asteroids. Producer Zach Nugent spoke with Adam Mann, an astronomy and physics reporter for Wired, who visited the Ames facility to see the gun in action.
NASA's Simulates Asteroid Impacts Using A Really Big Gun
http://www.nasa.gov
