NASA's Deep Impact mission used a variety of instruments to study the composition and structure of comet Tempel 1, including an X-ray spectrometer. The spectrometer was used to measure the amount of X-rays emitted by the comet, which can provide information about the comet's elemental composition. By studying the X-ray emission, scientists were able to determine that Tempel 1 is composed primarily of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, and iron.

In addition to measuring the comet's elemental composition, the X-ray spectrometer was also used to study the comet's density. This was done by measuring the amount of X-rays that were absorbed by the comet. By comparing the amount of X-rays that were absorbed to the amount that were emitted, scientists were able to determine that Tempel 1 has a density of about 0.6 grams per cubic centimeter. This is about half the density of water, which means that Tempel 1 is a very porous object.

The X-ray spectrometer was a valuable tool for studying the composition and structure of comet Tempel 1. The data collected by the spectrometer helped scientists to better understand the nature of comets and their role in the solar system.