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The Stardust Discovery Mission - Returning Unique Samples of Early Solar System OrganicsOn January 2,2004, the STARDUST spacecraft made the closest ever flyby (236 km) of the nucleus of a comet - Comet Wild 2. During the flyby the spacecraft collected samples of dust from the coma of the comet. These samples were successfully returned to Earth on January 15,2006. After a six-month preliminary examination to establish the nature of the returned samples, they will be made available to the general scientific community for study. During my talk I will discuss the scientific goals of the STARDUST mission and provide a brief overview of the mission's design and flight. I will also discuss the recovery of the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC), with an emphasis on those aspects of the recovery important for minimizing the degree of contamination (particularly organic contamination) of the samples. Finally, the first samples are only just now being distributed for preliminary examination, but I hope to be able to talk about some of the preliminary findings from the returned comet samples.
Document ID
20060021486
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Sandford, Scott
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2006 Astrobiology Science Conference
Location: Washington, DC
Country: United States
Start Date: March 26, 2006
End Date: March 30, 2006
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 21-624-08-01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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