ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

GET COMET

So, you know how sometimes you can see cool things in the sky like stars, the moon, and maybe even shooting stars? Well, sometimes you can also see something called a comet! A comet is kind of like a big, dirty snowball that is flying through space.

Now, scientists really like comets because they can help us learn more about the solar system and outer space. That's why they use things called telescopes to look at comets and study them. But sometimes, scientists want to get even closer to a comet so they can learn even more about it.

To do this, they send a special spacecraft called a "comet chaser" to fly out to the comet in space. The comet chaser is like a really cool space robot that can take pictures, collect data, and even land on the comet to study it up close!

But it's not easy to send a spaceship all the way out to a comet. Comets are really far away from us and they're moving really fast! So, scientists have to be really smart and use math and science to figure out the best way to get the comet chaser to the comet.

And once the comet chaser finally gets to the comet, it can send back all kinds of cool information that helps us learn more about the solar system and what's out there in space.