[meteorite-list] The Science Channel Documents The Stardust Mission

[Ron Baalke]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  
January 2, 2006
Contact:  Andrew Scafetta:
240.662.5519
Andrew_scafetta at discovery.com
                                            
Mary Kate Cranston:
202-362-3494
mary_kate_cranston-cw at discovery.com


In CATCHING THE COMET, THE SCIENCE CHANNEL DOCUMENTS THE FIRST U.S. SPACE
MISSION DEDICATED TO THE EXPLORATION OF A COMET AND THE FIRST RETURN OF
COMET DUST TO EARTH

 -- NASA Partners With Discovery Networks On Astronomical First  --

Silver Spring, MD -- The Science Channel and NASA enter a new frontier with
CATCHING  THE  COMET,  which premieres Tuesday, January 24 at 9 PM (ET/PT).
The one-hour special takes viewers on an unprecedented journey to the first
U.S.  space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the
first  robotic  mission  designed  to  return  comet  dust to the earth for
scientific analysis.

In  2004,  a  NASA  spacecraft flew past a comet named Wild 2 and collected
comet  dust  for  the first time in a specially designed high-tech capsule.
Now,  that  same capsule is scheduled to fall to earth in the middle of the
night  on  January 15, 2006 at a classified location in the desert of Utah.

CATCHING THE COMET showcases the complex science behind this landmark event
as  one of the world's leading experts on interstellar dust and NASA's lead
scientist  for the mission, Dr. Donald Brownlee, takes viewers step-by-step
through the extraordinary project and shares his vast knowledge of comets.

"We're  so  excited to be working with NASA and Discovery Channel Canada on
this   unprecedented   project   and  this  amazing  moment  of  scientific
discovery,"said  Jane  Root, executive vice president and general manager

for Discovery Channel, Science Channel and the Military Channel.  "CATCHING
THE  COMET  is  a  blue  chip  example  of The Science Channel's continuing
commitment  to bring viewers the best in scientific exploration, innovation
and cutting edge programming."

This NASA mission is extremely significant because scientists hope the dust
from these balls of gas, dust and ice will reveal clues to the physical and
chemical  conditions  of  the  Solar System as it existed 4.6 billion years
ago.   Scientists  do  not  know if the capsule will survive re-entry or if
NASA  will  be  able  to  retrieve it from the flats of Utah in the dark of
night.   Helicopters  will transport the matter to a specially prepared lab
for analysis.

Brownlee, professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington and author
of  Rare  Earth and The Life and Death of Planet Earth, will give viewers a
behind-the-scenes tour of NASA's mission control, along with an explanation
about  the  preparation  that  scientists  and  engineers  executed for the
high-tech  capsule's  return  and  its  actual  re-entry  into  the earth's
atmosphere.

According to NASA, the canister is scheduled to re-enter Earth's atmosphere
on  January  15,  2006  and  opened  on  January  20, 2006.  The comet dust
collector  inside the canister loosely resembles an oversized tennis racket
and contains cells filled with aerogel - a strong and sponge-like substance
so  light  it  almost  floats  in the air.  During the brief encounter with
Comet Wild 2 in 2004, the sample tray with the aerogel cells was exposed to
capture  the  comet dust, and then retracted into the canister for its long
journey back to Earth.

CATCHING  THE  COMET  is  co-produced  by  Discovery Channel Canada and The
Science  Channel.  Penny Park is supervising producer for Discovery Channel
Canada  and  Allan  Butler  is  executive producer for The Science Channel.
Jane Root is executive in charge of production.

The  Science  Channel  is  part  of  Discovery  Networks,  U.S.,  a unit of
Discovery  Communications,  Inc.,  which  also  operates  and  manages  the
Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, the Travel Channel, Discovery Health
Channel,  Discovery  HD  Theater,  Discovery  Kids Channel, Discovery Times
Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Discovery en Espanol and
FitTV.  The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.

Additional program information is available on www.press.discovery.com.

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