NASA Stardust Samples Headed to BNL for Analysis

January 30, 2006

This is an informational posting only, not a Brookhaven press release.

(L to R) George Flynn, Lindsay Keller, Larry Carr and Andy Smith examine a sample from the NASA Stardust mission.

Beginning in February 2006, Brookhaven National Laboratory will host a series of very exciting experiments - the analysis of space dust collected by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, which, after nearly seven years collecting cosmic matter during its travels through the solar system, landed safely in Utah on January 15. The experiments will take place at the Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), a facility that uses x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared light for research.

Launched on February 7, 1999, Stardust's mission was to collect dust and carbon-based compounds from a passing comet, as well as tiny amounts of interstellar dust streaming toward Earth from deep space. Its delivery of this material marks the first time since Apollo 17 that a NASA spacecraft has successfully brought back a space-matter sample...

NOTE: The full text of this story along with Stardust-related multimedia content can be found on this page.

2006-10432  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom