Genesis Solar Wind Capsule Crashes in Utah, 2004

On Sept. 8, 2004, NASA’s Genesis solar-wind spacecraft crash-landed in Utah after its parachute failed to deploy because four gravity switches in the sample-return canister were wired backwards, doom­ing the primary and backup parachutes. Genesis, launched in 2001 for $264 million, was NASA’s first robotic sample-return mission since Apollo 17 and sought to collect solar wind particles on ultrathin wafers; while the capsule shattered on impact, some samples were salvaged and the mishap led to reviews of future missions like Stardust.