Jan 15 2006
From The Space Library
NASA’s Stardust mission return capsule landed at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range at 5:10 a.m. (EST). The spacecraft, which had launched on 7 February 1999, flying 2.88 billion miles (4.63 billion kilometers) and circling the Sun three times, was the first to bring comet material from outer space. On 2 January 2004, Stardust had flown within 149 miles (239.79 kilometers) of comet Wild 2’s nucleus, to collect microscopic dust particles. During the voyage, the spacecraft had captured bits of interstellar dust streaming into the solar system from other parts of the galaxy. NASA expected that the 100-pound (45.36-kilogram) capsule ejected from Stardust would contain approximately 1 million samples of comet and interstellar dust particles, trapped in a material like spun glass, called aerogel. NASA would transfer the capsule to a laboratory at its Johnson Space Center (JSC), where scientists would examine the samples. According to Principal Investigator for the mission, Donald E. Brownlee, of the University of Washington, Seattle, “this has been a fantastic opportunity to collect the most primitive material in the solar system. We fully expect some of the comet particles to be older than the Sun.”
Guy Gugliotta, “Stardust Capsule Brings First Comet Sample to Earth,” Washington Post, 17 January 2006; Warren Leary, “Space Capsule Bearing Comet Dust Lands in Utah,” New York Times, 17 January 2006; NASA, “NASA’s Comet Hunter on Final Approach for Sunday Landing,” news release 06-028, 12 January 2006, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/jan/HQ_06028_Stardust.html (accessed 14 September 2009).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
