[meteorite-list] NASA Prepares for Return of Interstellar Cargo (Stardust)

[Ron Baalke]

Dec. 21, 2005

Dwayne Brown/Merrilee Fellows
Headquarters, Washington 
(202) 358-1726; (818) 393-075

D.C. Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(818) 393-9011 

RELEASE: 05-562

NASA PREPARES FOR RETURN OF INTERSTELLAR CARGO

NASA's Stardust mission is nearing Earth after a 2.88 billion mile 
round-trip journey to return cometary and interstellar dust particles 
back to Earth. Scientists believe the cargo will help provide answers 
to fundamental questions about comets and the origins of the solar 
system.

The velocity of the sample return capsule, as it enters the Earth's 
atmosphere at 28,860 mph, will be the fastest of any human-made 
object on record. It surpasses the record set in May 1969 during the 
return of the Apollo 10 command module. The capsule is scheduled to 
return on Jan. 15.

"Comets are some of the most informative occupants of the solar 
system. The more we can learn from science exploration missions like 
Stardust, the more we can prepare for human exploration to the moon, 
Mars and beyond," said Mary Cleave, associate administrator for 
NASA's Science Mission Directorate. 

Several events must occur before scientists can retrieve cosmic 
samples from the capsule landing at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and 
Training Range, southwest of Salt Lake City. Mission navigators will 
command the spacecraft to perform targeting maneuvers on Jan. 5 and 
13. On Jan. 15 at 12:57 a.m. EST, Stardust will release its sample 
return capsule. Four hours later, the capsule will enter Earth's 
atmosphere 410,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. 

The capsule will release a drogue parachute at approximately 105,000 
feet. Once the capsule has descended to about 10,000 feet, the main 
parachute will deploy. The capsule is scheduled to land on the range 
at 5:12 a.m. EST.

After the capsule lands, if conditions allow, a helicopter crew will 
fly it to the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, for initial 
processing. If weather does not allow helicopters to fly, special 
off-road vehicles will retrieve the capsule and return it to Dugway. 
Samples will be moved to a special laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space 
Center, Houston, where they will be preserved and studied. 

"Locked within the cometary particles is unique chemical and physical 
information that could be the record of the formation of the planets 
and the materials from which they were made," said Don Brownlee, 
Stardust principal investigator at the University of Washington, 
Seattle.

NASA expects most of the collected particles to be no more than a 
third of a millimeter across. Scientists will slice these particle 
samples into even smaller pieces for study.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the Stardust 
mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed 
Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. 

For information about the Stardust mission on the Web, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/stardust 

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/podcast 

	
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