The key to doing this is to use the enormous force of gravity of the planets to get us there. The spacecraft will be collecting interstellar dust samples at certain points in the mission while in cruise to the comet, using a second aerogel collector. There are some planned imaging activities when the spacecraft flies past the earth and moon for the earth gravity assist. For the majority of the cruise to the comet and after comet encounter, the spacecraft will be in a low power mode, but ensuring all thermal environments are maintained. Comets are leftover materials which formed of the planets and the sun more than 4.5 billion years ago.
Comets contain many of the organic materials thought to be essential for the origin of life.
In the early solar system, comets bombarded the planets, repeatedly and often. The space object which impacted Earth 65 million years ago, causing the dinosaurs to become extinct, may have been a comet. Most particles from a comet are smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Comet particles will be captured relatively gently by using a sponge-like cushioning material, called aerogel. Aerogel is a special type of foamed glass, made so light weight that it is barely visible and almost floats in air.