Artist's Impression Stardust, a NASA space capsule carrying precious comet samples from deep space, is scheduled to return to earth January 15, 2006. Scientists hope to discover new meaning to the begining of our solar system. Stardust's 2.9 billion mile round-trip mission took it halfway to Jupiter to catch particles from comet Wild 2 two years ago. Its journey will have lasted a total of just over 7 years when it lands in the Utah desert. On Sunday, the ship will remain in space while a 100-pound (45 kg) capsule loaded with comet dust returns to earth and lands at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training range at 3:12 a.m. local time (5:12 a.m. EST or 1012 GMT). If the skies are all clear on January 15, then people from Northern california , Oregon and Nevada could get quite a show as the capsule enters Earth's atmosphere. The show will be quick, but should prove impressive.  Comets are thought to be remnants from the process of planet formation, and scientists said the dust collected by Stardust will give them their first opportunity to study pristine samples of materials formed billions of years ago. The particles from the comet were captured using a tennis-racket-sized space probe containing ice-cube sized compartments lined with aerogel, a porous substance that is 99.9 percent air. It is the first time since 1972 that any solid extraterrestrial material has been collected and brought back to Earth, and the first time ever for comet particles. Stardust EDL Groundtrack During its descent over the desert, the capsule is scheduled to deploy two parachutes, though NASA officials said they have prepared for the possibility of a hard landing. A NASA probe called Genesis crashed to Earth in 2004 when its parachute failed to open. That craft had been on a three-year mission to collect solar wind ions, which were recovered by scientists even though the spacecraft was destroyed. Related Wikinews
Artist's Impression Stardust, a NASA space capsule carrying precious comet samples from deep space, is scheduled to return to earth January 15, 2006. Scientists hope to discover new meaning to the beginning of our solar system. Stardust's 2.9 billion mile round-trip mission took it halfway to Jupiter to catch particles from Comet Wild 2 two years ago. Its journey will have lasted a total of just over seven years when it lands in the Utah desert. On Sunday, the ship will remain in space while a 100-pound (45 kg) capsule loaded with comet dust returns to earth and lands at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range at 3:12 a.m. local time (5:12 a.m. EST or 1012 GMT). If the skies are all clear on January 15, then people from Northern California , Oregon and Nevada could get quite a show as the capsule enters Earth's atmosphere. The show will be quick, but should prove impressive. Stardust EDL Groundtrack Comets are thought to be remnants from the process of planet formation, and scientists said the dust collected by Stardust will give them their first opportunity to study pristine samples of materials formed billions of years ago. The particles from the comet were captured using a tennis-racket-sized space probe containing ice-cube sized compartments lined with aerogel, a porous substance that is 99.9 percent air. It is the first time since 1972 that any solid extraterrestrial material has been collected and brought back to Earth, and the first time ever for comet particles. During its descent over the desert, the capsule is scheduled to deploy two parachutes, though NASA officials said they have prepared for the possibility of a hard landing. A NASA probe called Genesis crashed to Earth in 2004 when its parachute failed to open. That craft had been on a three-year mission to collect solar wind ions, which were recovered by scientists even though the spacecraft was destroyed. Related news
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