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

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Dec 21 14:10:08 2005
Message-ID: <200512211908.jBLJ8TG10100_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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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Received on Wed 21 Dec 2005 02:08:29 PM PST