NASA'S STARDUST
MISSION If
all goes well, a space probe called Stardust will be the first NASA
craft to experience a close encounter with a comet. When
comet Wild-2 swings through our inner solar system in January 2004,
Stardust should be there, sweeping up dust particles in the comet's
tail and taking samples of its gases. Scientists expect these samples
to yield important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets
-- and possibly into the origins of life itself.
Click
on the links at left to learn more about the NASA mission.