NASA scientists have confirmed that the Stardust capsule returned from space contains samples of a comet and interplanetary dust.
NASA scientists have confirmed that the Stardust capsule returned from space contains samples of a comet and interplanetary dust.
"The collection of comet particles exceeded our expectations." said Dr. Donald Brownlee, principal investigator of the Stardust project. "We're excited to see thousands of airgel hits." said. The airgel is a sponge-like solid made of clay, but 99 percent of it is empty space, an ideal material for trapping tiny particles.
Stardust landed in Utah after a journey of seven years and about 5 billion kilometers in space. The capsule containing these samples was brought to the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday. On Thursday evening, early Friday morning (starting at two in the morning) the scientists of the operation will hold a press conference. We will follow the reports from her tomorrow.
