RELEASE: 05-030                                                  Jan. 27, 2005

NASA SENDS FIRST GENESIS EARLY-SCIENCE SAMPLE TO RESEARCHERS

     NASA scientists have sent to academic researchers an unprecedented piece of 
the sun gathered by the Genesis spacecraft, enabling the start of studies to 
achieve the mission's initial science objectives.

Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston recently shipped a 
piece of the Genesis polished aluminum collector to researchers at Washington 
University in St. Louis. The shipment marked the first distribution of a Genesis 
scientific sample from JSC since the science canister arrived on Oct. 4, 2004. 
Preliminary examination of the sample by researchers has confirmed it contains 
solar ions, traces of the solar wind.

"Reaching this point in our work and being able to send out this first Genesis 
scientific sample marks a milestone in recovery efforts, following the spacecraft 
mishap upon re-entry last September," said Dr. Eileen Stansbery, Deputy Director 
of JSC's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate. "The team 
has done an outstanding job of curating these precious samples, performing 
preliminary exams, investigating numerous techniques to reduce or eliminate 
contamination that occurred upon impact, and preparing the samples for 
distribution to researchers," she noted.

Washington University researchers Charles Hohenberg and Alex Meshik will study 
the sample to try to determine detailed information about the gases that make up 
the sun. 

Although most of the solar wind is comprised of hydrogen, Genesis' goal was to 
capture samples of all elements in the periodic table to allow a detailed study 
of the sun's composition. The aluminum collector was designed to capture solar 
wind samples that can be used to measure the amounts of neon, argon, krypton and 
xenon, called the noble gases, the sun contains.

"Gaining a better understanding of the noble gas elements in the sun is one of 
the 19 specific scientific measurement objectives originally proposed for the 
Genesis mission," said Stansbery. "We are delighted to provide this sample to our 
Washington University colleagues. We look forward to the results of the research 
they are already conducting in this critical area, and we are increasingly 
optimistic that even more science data will be obtained from Genesis samples in 
the coming months," she added

The Washington University study is the first of two scientific objectives that 
make up the initial research program planned for Genesis. The other early science 
objective involves studies of nitrogen from samples.

Genesis clean-room activities are now focused on preparing the second early 
science sample, the gold foil, for distribution in the next few weeks to 
researchers at the University of Minnesota. The gold foil collected bulk solar 
wind and will be used to study nitrogen isotopes.

Genesis was launched Aug. 8, 2001, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 
Florida on a mission to collect solar wind particles. The science phase of the 
mission was completed on April 1, 2004, following the collection of samples that 
began on Dec. 5, 2001. Following an extensive recovery effort since its Sept. 8 
impact at a Utah landing site, the first scientific samples from the Genesis 
space probe arrived at JSC on Oct. 4, 2004.

Still imagery of JSC curators preparing the polished aluminum sample for 
distribution is available on the Internet at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/genesis/multimedia/genesis_samples_shipped.html

Information on the JSC Genesis Team is available at:

http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/genesis/

For more information about the Genesis mission on the Internet, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/genesis



Dolores Beasley    
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

William Jeffs
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

Susan Killenberg McGinn
Washington University, St. Louis
(Phone: 314/935-5254)