Stardust

krrr · Jan 15, 2006

As for the Russian probes that went to the Moon and returned they were the Zond space craft.I think Zond 4 was the first one to return. They were Luna 16, Luna 20 and Luna 24. The Zonds were lunar flyby missions (except Zond 3, they were unmanned tests of Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft and did indeed return to earth).

telfrow · Jan 15, 2006

NASA's Stardust sample return mission returned safely to Earth when the capsule carrying cometary and interstellar particles successfully touched down at 2:10 a.m. Pacific time (3:10 a.m. Mountain time) in the desert salt flats of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range. Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Jan 15, 2006

Capsule in Cleanroom Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Jan 15, 2006

Stardust Capsule Return Stardust Capsule Return as seen from NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory with a mission to explore the conditions during reentry from the light emitted by the fireball caused when the capsule streaked through the sky. The aircraft was located near the end of the trajectory, just outside of UTTR. www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/multimedia/dc8flight1.html[/url] <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

JonClarke · Jan 16, 2006

The Zonds are generally regarded as flybys because they did not enter orbit. Except for Zond 3 (which flew on out past the orbit of Mars, they flew figure of 8 free return paths back to earth. But of course they had no lunar samples on board. Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars Arthur Clarke </div>

CalliArcale · Jan 16, 2006

I've heard the phrase "swingby" for those kinds of missions. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

holmec · Jan 17, 2006

Alas, I guess it doesn't happen too often then. No market for returning material to earth. Good job anyhow Stardust. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off </div>

CalliArcale · Jan 17, 2006

Additionally, the Genesis probe qualifies. That returned to Earth after time spent orbiting the Sun-Earth L1 point, which is more distant than the Moon. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

telfrow · Jan 18, 2006

UW astronomer hits cosmic paydirt with Stardust Scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were excited and awed Tuesday by what they saw when the sample-return canister from the Stardust spacecraft was opened. It exceeds all expectations," said Donald Brownlee, a University of Washington astronomy professor who is principal investigator, or lead scientist, for Stardust. "It's a huge success. We can see lots of impacts. There are big ones, there are small ones." Stardust returned to Earth in a spectacular re-entry early Sunday after a 7-year mission to collect particles from comet Wild 2 and samples of interstellar dust streaming into our solar system from other parts of the galaxy. The comet dates from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Brownlee calculated there might be more than a million microscopic specks of dust embedded in Stardust's aerogel collector. Aerogel, a remarkable material that is as much as 99.9 percent empty space, greatly reduced the stress of impact on the particles, he said. The carrot-shaped tracks of much larger particles are visible in the aerogel from several feet away, Brownlee said, and in some of the tracks the black comet dust is visible at the end of the track. One track, he said, "is almost large enough to put your little finger into it." Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

henryhallam · Jan 18, 2006

Woohoo! Can't wait to see pictures.

vmiguy · Jan 19, 2006

Just a thought, has anyone noticed that this is exactly the way the classic "Dawn of the Dead", "The Thing from OUter Space", the 1980's "The Blob", and "The Andromeda Strain" begin? I know we shouldn't be basing our lives on SF movies, but didn't Sttasllone's "Demolition Man" say the Arnold was going to become President because of a special Ammendment to the Constitution (it has been suggested)? "We're not going to pick up hitchikers! Horror movies start that way!" "Yeah, but so do pornos." Detroit Rock City

telfrow · Jan 19, 2006

View of a Cometary Impact Into Aerogel JSC2006-E-01007 (17 January 2006) --- Closeup view of a cometary impact (upper right) into aerogel was inspected by scientists at a laboratory at the Johnson Space Center hours after the Stardust Sample Return Canister was delivered to the Johnson Space Center from the spacecraft's landing site in Utah. Image credit: NASA <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Jan 19, 2006

View of a Cometary Impact Into Aerogel JSC2006-E-01008 (17 January 2006) --- Closeup view of a cometary impact (center) into aerogel was inspected by scientists at a laboratory at the Johnson Space Center hours after the Stardust Sample Return Canister was delivered to the Johnson Space Center from the spacecraft's landing site in Utah. Image credit: NASA Link for photos photos and captions <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

henryhallam · Jan 19, 2006

Thanks!!!

scottb50 · Jan 20, 2006

Very nice! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

telfrow · Jan 27, 2006

January 25 Status Report Since the Sample Canister has been delivered to the Stardust cleanroom at Johson Space Center (JSC) on January 17th, the Preliminary Examination Team (PET) along with JSC Curatorial staff have been making good progress toward processing the returned samples. The processing has proceeded smoothly and made very good progress; in fact, we are ahead of our planned schedule on several fronts. The Principal Investigaor, Deputy Principal Investigator and several subteam leads have worked 8:00 am untill near midnight for the last two days. We have removed many aerogel fragments and found many particles in them; removed 7 pieces of aluminum foil and found very many small craters in them; removed several particles from the fragments and examined them by IR; microtomed several particles; remove two Wild 2 aerogel cells from the tray; and sliced one of the removed aerogel cell with the harmonic saw. Sometimes we have up to 7 teams working in parallel each day; several of the the PET members have worked from 8:00 am till near midnight in the last two days. Prepared samples will be distributed to PET subteam members today. Image Caption: "A particle impact on the aluminum frame that holds the aerogel tiles. The debris from the impact shot into the adjacent aerogel tile producing the explosion pattern of ejecta framents captured in the material. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Feb 4, 2006

Seeing stardust: New image shows speck of comet dust from NASA mission This photo from NASA shows a mote of comet dust embedded in a tiny wedge of aerogel extracted from the Stardust collectors that returned to Earth Jan. 15. The comet dust was extracted by University of California, Berkeley, researcher Christopher Snead using new nanomanipulation techniques developed at the campus's Space Sciences Laboratory. The grain of dust entered the aerogel from the lower right at supersonic speed and moved to the upper left, where it can be seen as a bright dot at the end of the carrot-shaped trail. The large oval cavity at lower right was blown out by shock waves created as the grain exceeded the sound barrier in the aerogel. At right is a micromachined fixture developed by UC Berkeley physicists, in collaboration with Chris Keller of MEMS Precision Instruments, to extract grains of comet and interstellar dust from the detectors. Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Feb 4, 2006

Stardust Status Report January 31, 2006 The pace of sample processing (removing and preparing the particles from the aerogel cells) has ramped up considerably. Six particles have been removed from the aerogel. Most of these particles were 'potted' in epoxy and the epoxy was then sliced into very thin wafers. Additionally, we've also separated particles along with their tracks in small pieces of aerogel. Infrared spectroscopy has been performed on the removed particles, and half of one of the removed aerogel cell has been examined with a X-Ray beam from a synchrotron. The soil samples taken from the Utah landing site of the Sample Return Capsule are been examined for their chemical composition. One piece of the removed aluminum foil will be examined under a Scanning Electron Microscope to observe very small particle impacts. Some of the sliced wafers are being readied for a Transmission Electron Microscope to reveal the particle's mineralogy and petrology. As more of these processed samples reach the hands of eagerly awaiting analysts around the world, the pace of Wild 2 sample analyses - the central focus of this Preliminary Examination - will accelerate along with the revelation of breathtaking results. Stay tuned! Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Feb 4, 2006

A close-up of a 1.5 millimeter section of aerogel shows a particle of dust captured by the Stardust craft as it crossed the orbit of the Wild 2 comet. Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

brellis · Feb 5, 2006

The success of the Stardust mission makes me proud to be a human being... that said, I have to laugh at the aerogel pics, because I just cleaned a bunch of stuff that looks just like that after I drove on the I5 thru the Central Valley of California, lol. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

telfrow · Feb 9, 2006

Stardust Status Report 02.07.06 It has been 3 weeks since landing! Based upon an initial X-Ray Tomography (XT) examination of the quickstone - a particle track removed from an aerogel fragment with an ultrasonic blade - the bifurcated track (click to see image) is now determined to be "pentafurcated" (5 tracks) since three more smaller tracks have been identified. With the XT, we will have a solid digital model of the quickstone and be able to view the entire track from all directions on a computer screen. This is especially important in identifying sizes of grains scattered along the track (down to 0.1 microns) and their precise locations. On January 19th, 2006, we released the first picture of a particle taken in situ of the aerogel. We have now made a keystone of the track. The particle and its track removed from an aerogel fragment with an automated keystone system. This keystone can now be conveniently transported and placed into various analytical instruments to study its properties. The Preliminary Examination Team will be gathered in the Stardust Cleanroom on February 9 to begin the second cell extraction cycle. The Team has looked at some of the removed small particles and found the entry fragments are melted more so than the particles further down the track. This was as expected. The Team will remove some of the larger particles to determine how well the grains had survived. The Team will also remove a few grains from the largest tracks to determine their compositions. Link <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Feb 9, 2006

Comet Particles and Tracks in Aerogel 02/07/06 Caption: An aerogel slice removed with an ultrasonic blade, showing comet particles and tracks. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Feb 9, 2006

Comet dust samples arrive in the UK The first samples of dust from a comet billions of miles away have arrived in the UK to undergo analysis. The grains were captured by the US space agency's Stardust probe from a comet dating back to the beginning of our universe, 4.6 billion years ago. Last month a capsule from the Stardust mission landed in Utah, containing over a million miniscule particles. The UK scientists hope the cometary dust will shed light on the origins of the Solar System. It is the first time samples of cometary and interstellar dust have been returned to earth. Scientists from the Open University, Natural History Museum, Imperial College, University of Kent and University of Manchester are the lucky recipients of parcels containing material from the Comet Wild-2. Three different kinds of samples have been distributed to the UK for investigation: Foil from the particle collector Blocks of aerogel, the porous material used to collect the tiny particles And the extracted particles themselves Scientists at the Open University, in Milton Keynes, were extremely excited to received samples of foil yesterday, and research began immediately. Full Story <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Feb 20, 2006

Comet dust sparks scientific intrigue Samples hint at ancient origins, with tentative signs of organic compounds Giving a sneak peek of results to come, a top mission scientist said flecks of material collected during the Stardust spacecraft's seven-year journey bear the unmistakable signature of an ancient comet, including sulfides, crystalline silicates and probably organic compounds as well. "We're seeing a variety of things that we know absolutely come from a comet," University of Washington astronomer Donald Brownlee, Stardust's principal investigator, told reporters here Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Brownlee heads an international team of about 150 scientists who are getting their first looks at the specks captured by NASA's Stardust spacecraft as it flew close to Comet Wild 2 back in 2004. At the end of a 2.9-billion-mile (4.6-billion-kilometer) round trip, the spacecraft successfully delivered a capsule containing the samples back to Earth on Jan. 15. The flecks of dust and grit are contained within 132 ice-cube-sized tiles of aerogel, an ultra-light, porous material that has been compared to "solid smoke." As the bits entered the tiles, they carved carrot-shaped or turnip-shaped tracks in the transparent aerogel. Brownlee said six of aerogel blocks have been pulled out for inspection so far. "All of the tiles are in good shape — which is amazing," he said. --------- Later, Brownlee told MSNBC.com that there were preliminary indications of organic compounds, based on telltale infrared readings. He cautioned that the initial indications were tentative and could still be traced to contaminants. "The spacecraft is made of plastic, for example," he said. But Brownlee also said it wouldn't be surprising to find organics in comet dust. "I would suspect that somewhere around 10 percent would be organic particles, <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

telfrow · Mar 13, 2006

Stardust Samples Show Evidence of Fire, Ice Stardust samples of comet particles might seem like a strange place to find a big component of the green sand found on some Hawaiian beaches, but there it was. The spacecraft, which flew within 150 miles of the comet Wild 2 in January 2004, brought back samples that may provide new insights into the composition of comets and how they vary from one another, scientists said Monday. "Remarkably enough, we have found fire and ice," said Donald Brownlee, Stardust principal investigator and professor of astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle. The returned samples show high-temperature materials from the coldest part of our solar system. Brownlee and fellow scientists spoke at NASA's Johnson Space Center to reporters at JSC and at other NASA Centers. Comets, they said, may not be as simple as the clouds of ice, dust and gases they were thought to comprise. They may be diverse with complex and varied histories. Wild 2 seems to be an example of that complexity. The material like that in the green Hawaiian beach sand is called olivine. Its presence in the comet's dust trail was a surprise. "It seems that comets are … a mixture of materials formed at all temperatures, at places very near the early sun and at places very remote from it," said Michael Zolensky, Stardust curator and co-investigator at JSC. Olivine's components include iron, magnesium and other elements. The Wild 2 samples have other high-temperature materials containing calcium, aluminum and titanium. Stardust's seven-year journey ended with a landing in the Utah desert Jan. 15. Wild 2 samples arrived at JSC Jan. 17. Samples have been distributed to about 150 scientists around the world for study. Most of the grains embedded in the Stardust low-density-glass aerogel are smaller than the width of a hair, but there appear to be thousands of them. The trails of <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild. - Tennyson </div>

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