[DOC] [TLE] Stardust (spacecraft) - Wikipedia [PAR] Stardust was a 300-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on 
February 7, 1999. Its primary mission was to collect dust samples from the coma 
of comet Wild 2, as well as samples of cosmic dust, and return these to Earth ..... 
On January 2, 2004, at 19:21:28 UTC, Stardust encountered Comet Wild 2 on the 
sunward... [DOC] [TLE] Stardust Sample Return - JPL - NASA [PAR] Jan 15, 2006 ... Stardust. Sample Return. Press Kit. January 2006 www.nasa.gov .... Scientists 
will slice these particle samples into even smaller pieces for .... spacecraft made 
its closest approach of comet Wild 2 at a distance of ... changing them greatly. ... 1
/2/04. Earth orbit. Interstellar dust collection. February-May 2000. [DOC] [TLE] Stardust - NASA's Comet Sample Return Mission [PAR] JPL Home, Earth, Solar System, Stars & Galaxies, Technology ... Composite 
image of Comet Wild-2 taken by the Stardust spacecraft showing jets from the ... 
Stardust sample return capsule will join the collection of flight icons in the ... 
organics in comet dust captured from comet Wild 2 in 2004 by NASA's Stardust 
spacecraft. [DOC] [TLE] Stardust: Comet and interstellar dust sample return mission [PAR] [1] Stardust, the 4th Discovery mission launched in February 1999, will collect 
coma samples from the recently deflected comet 81P/Wild 2 on 2 January 2004 
and return them to ... Wild 2 mass and integrated dust fluence; and tracking of the 
spacecraft's attitude .... to collect and return to Earth 100 contemporary ISP 
particles. [DOC] [TLE] Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: STARDUST ... [PAR] Today the spacecraft flew within 149 miles (240 kilometers) of Comet Wild 2 to 
collect ... in about one million, 71 thousand minutes from now when Stardust 
returns to Earth, ... Wild 2 today on a first-of-its-kind quest to collect samples for 
return to Earth. ... These sensors will detect the impact of large comet dust 
particles that... [DOC] [TLE] Spacecraft to Bring Home Comet Dust and Clues - Washington Post [PAR] Jan 9, 2006 ... For thousands of years, stargazers on Earth have marveled at the ghostly beauty 
of ... samples from one of these cosmic travelers will be returning home. NASA's 
Stardust spacecraft flew two years ago through the halo of gas, dust and debris, 
or "coma," enveloping comet Wild 2, and before dawn on Sunday... [DOC] [TLE] CNN.com - Stardust of yesterday - Jan 13, 2006 [PAR] Jan 13, 2006 ... NASA's Stardust space probe is racing toward Earth, carrying a tiny payload of 
cometary ... The probe collected dust and carbon-based samples during its 
encounter with Comet Wild 2 on January 2004, after nearly four years of space 
travel. ... (Watch how cosmic duster collector will make its return -- 1:57). [DOC] [TLE] NASA's Stardust Comet Samples Contain Minerals Born in Fire [PAR] Mar 13, 2006 ... Pieces of a comet returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust spacecraft ... "When 
these minerals formed they were either red hot or white hot ... The probe swung 
past the 4.5 billion-year-old Comet Wild 2 on Jan. 2, 2004. ... down to about one 
micrometer, though the interstellar dust samples are much smaller. [DOC] [TLE] Stardust - Space Today Online [PAR] Another sample return capsule landing in the Utah desert: ... Stardust saw lots of 
features, some as small 65 feet across, on Comet Wild 2 from a distance of .... 
January 2, 2004: NASA's Stardust spacecraft passed safely within 149 miles of 
Comet ... A total of less than one-thousandth of an ounce of comet dust was 
collected. [DOC] [TLE] First Comet Dust on Earth Reveals Clues to Solar System [PAR] Dec 14, 2006 ... The analysis of these cometary dust grains proves that the early solar ... That 
makes them especially valuable to those who hope to learn more ... On January 2
, 2004, the Stardust spacecraft flew by Comet Wild 2 ... After collection, the 
Stardust spacecraft returned the samples to Earth on January 15,

Question: On Jan. 2, 2004 the Stardust probe collected dust samples from Wild 2, one of these, & is returning them to Earth
Answer: a comet