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Stardust Mission

All articles tagged with #stardust mission

science1 month ago•14 min saved

Stardust Delivers First Solid Comet Dust to Earth, Revealing a Complex Solar System Recipe

NASA’s Stardust flew through comet 81P/Wild 2’s coma in 2004, catching dust in a silica aerogel and returning to Utah in 2006 after a 4.63 billion-kilometre journey—the first solid cometary material brought to Earth. The samples, more than 10,000 grains, showed a mix of materials formed in hot and cold regions of the early Solar System, including crystalline silicates and a calcium-aluminium-rich inclusion; in 2009 glycine, a simple amino acid, was identified, demonstrating that comets carry prebiotic molecules and that returning samples allows reanalysis with advancing techniques.

via Space Daily|

#81pwild-2 #aerogel-collector #cometary-samples

space-science2 years ago•2 min saved

"Revealing the Unprecedented Secrets of Comet Wild 2"

New findings from NASA's Stardust mission reveal that the comet Wild 2, from which samples were collected nearly two decades ago, contains a diverse mix of materials that formed from different events in the early solar system's history. These findings, recently described in the journal Geochemistry, challenge previous expectations and provide valuable insights into the comet's origins and the solar system's formative years. The microscopic samples, containing unique and previously unseen materials, have been preserved within Wild 2 and continue to hold surprises for scientists as they are further analyzed using new techniques.

via SciTechDaily|

#comet-wild-2 #nasa #solar-system

astronomy2 years ago•2 min saved

"Revealing the Surprising Past of Wild 2 Comet: Sample Analysis"

Analysis of samples from the Wild 2 comet collected by NASA's Stardust mission has revealed surprising findings about the comet's origins and history. Contrary to expectations, the comet contains a diverse mix of dust formed from different events in the early solar system, providing a record of local events that shaped the solar system. The samples, preserved in space for nearly two decades, offer unique insights into the solar system's formative years and hold the potential for further discoveries as new analytical techniques are applied.

via Phys.org|

#astronomy #comet-wild-2 #scientific-discovery