Stardust (spacecraft) - Wikipedia
Stardust was a 385-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on 7 February 1999. Its primary mission was to collect dust samples from the coma of comet Wild 2, as well as samples of cosmic dust, and return them to Earth for analysis. It was the first sample return mission of …
Stardust - Comet Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Feb 7, 1999 · Stardust was the first spacecraft to return a cometary sample and extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the moon to Earth. In 2004, the Stardust spacecraft made a close flyby of comet Wild-2, collecting comet and interstellar dust in a substance called aerogel.
Stardust / Stardust NExT - Science@NASA
Feb 7, 1999 · Stardust was comprised of a 560-pound (254-kilogram) spacecraft that included a 100-pound (45.7-kilogram) sample return capsule shaped like a blunt-nosed cone. The spacecraft had five major components: a heat shield, backshell, sample …
In Depth | Stardust – NASA Solar System Exploration
Feb 7, 1999 · Stardust was comprised of a 560-pound (254-kilogram) spacecraft that included a 100-pound (45.7-kilogram) sample return capsule shaped like a blunt-nosed cone. The spacecraft had five major components: a heat shield, backshell, sample …
NASA's Stardust Mission: The Space Probe That Brought Stardust …
Feb 26, 2019 · NASA's Stardust mission not only brought pristine pieces of the comet Wild 2 back to Earth; it also collected the first particles from interstellar space.
Stardust - NASA's Comet Sample Return Mission - NASA Solar …
NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft. Stardust sample return capsule will join the collection of flight icons in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details
May 1, 2015 · The primary objective of the Discovery class Stardust mission is to fly by the comet P/Wild 2 and collect samples (at least 1000 analyzable particles of diameter >15 microns) of dust and volatiles from the coma of the comet. It will then …
Stardust | JPL | NASA - NASA Solar System Exploration
Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the Moon. The Stardust spacecraft was launched on February 7, 1999, from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, aboard a Delta II rocket.
Stardust | Missions | Astrobiology
Stardust was the first spacecraft to return a cometary sample and extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the moon to Earth. Two years later, the samples made it back to Earth in a return capsule that landed in the Utah desert.
Stardust: The mission that forever changed our understanding of …
Jan 15, 2022 · Stardust was designed to be the first spacecraft to return cometary samples from beyond the Moon’s orbit. The craft would pass through the comet’s coma — the hazy envelope of ice and dust the...