The sample-return capsule from the Stardust spacecraft landed early this morning in Utah, after gliding through the darkness across the West Coast of the United States. Inside the capsule is valuable cargo: the first cometary and interstellar material to be returned to the Earth for study.

NASA TV covered the landing live while helicopters at the Utah Test and Training Range in western Utah, USA positioned themselves for retrieval in a holding area. As the capsule streaked over Oregon it became the fastest human-made object to descend through the atmosphere, at nearly 29,000 miles per hour (12.8 kilometers per second.) In just seconds it moved out of Oregon and over Nevada and was picked up by infrared ground tracking instruments.

At 10,000 feet above the Earth’s surface, the main parachute deployed, to applause from ground crews. The capsule’s UHF beacon was successfully picked up to help the helicopters with their retrieval. The capsule rapidly decelerated in speed and began drifting to the surface before landing at an estimated 10 miles per hour. Touchdown occurred at approximately 3:10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Landing coordinates came immediately and the helicopters quickly began their search in the dark for the capsule.

The search lasted approximately 42 minutes before official confirmation came that the capsule had been located.

Now that the sample-return capsule has landed safely on Earth and been retrieved, it will be transported to Stardust Laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, USA where the exacting process of retrieving the individual grains from the aerogel tray can begin. A six-month effort of retrieval, documentation and early scientific analysis will be followed by the release of particles to the general science community for further research.

Last year’s Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel 1 revealed just how little we know about the small bodies of our solar system. Comets might be more “snowy dirtballs” than “dirty snowballs” or they may instead have more variable compositions than previously understood. Images returned of Comet Wild 2 by Stardust during their January 2004 encounter revealed numerous crater-like features that have likely been modified by gas outbursts from the comet.

More Information

• Stardust – NASA’s Comet Sample Return Mission
• More Stardust Sample-Return Capsule Landing Images
• January 15, 2006 Press Release: NASA/JPL - “NASA’s Comet Tale Draws to a Successful Close in Utah Desert“

The first mission to return cometary material to the Earth is now in its final hours of the mission. The Stardust spacecraft, visitor to Asteroid 5535 Annefrank and Comet Wild 2, crossed the orbit of the Moon yesterday morning and successfully deployed the sample-return capsule toward the Earth later that evening. The capsule is expected to streak across the western United States early this morning before landing in the Utah Test and Training Range.

During its close flyby of Comet Wild 2, particles from the dusty coma of the comet impacted Stardust’s aerogel sample collectors. One side of the array was used to collect dust from the comet, while the other side was used to collect interstellar dust. The array was then stored within the sample-return capsule for eventual return to the Earth.

Stardust’s successful collection of dust particles from Comet Wild 2 could lead to a revolution in our understanding of the small bodies in our solar system. Small bodies in our solar system include objects like comets, asteroids, and the Kuiper Belt bodies of which Pluto is a likely member. Theory suggests that these small bodies are pristine remnants from the formation of our solar system that perhaps also played a role in seeding the early Earth with water and organic materials necessary for the development of life.

The cometary and interstellar dust particles captured by Stardust will undergo a variety of tests that can only be performed in advanced laboratories here on the Earth. Stardust itself will fire its thrusters to put it into orbit around the Sun.

Live coverage of the event will be provided by NASA TV.

More Information

• Stardust – NASA’s Comet Sample Return Mission
• January 14, 2006 Press Release: NASA/JPL - “NASA’S STARDUST PASSES MOON, JUST HOURS AWAY FROM EARTH RETURN“