Stardust mission endsIn 2006, the Stardust capsule successfully returned to Earth, carrying dust from a comet, which could shed light on the origins of our planetary system. It ended its six-year mission by entering the atmosphere at 28,860 mph - faster than any other man-made object before. Its speed was reduced to 14.8 feet per second as it parachuted back to the United States, and was retrieved by NASA scientists. It was the first successful collection of cometary and interstellar material, and the first rock samples taken from space since the Apollo missions. A prior attempt by the same team to retrieve solar wind particles, the Genesis return probe, ended 16 months earlier without properly opening its parachute and had been badly damaged by hitting the ground at 193 mph.« |
