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How the Mission Will Unfold |
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HOW
THE MISSION WILL UNFOLD
  Third
time a charm: Slightly larger than a refrigerator, the diminutive
Stardust spacecraft will make two looping swings around the sun
before closing in on Wild-2 the third time around the sun.
 Collecting
stardust: At points along the way, the craft is scheduled to
collect samples of tiny interstellar particles -- or stardust --
that stream through the solar system. To do that, a cone-shaped
clamshell on the end of Stardust will open, unfolding a collection
device best described as an oversize tennis racket. The racket has
130 rectangular compartments on each side. One side will be used
to collect particle samples en route to the comet. The other is
reserved for the encounter with Wild-2.
Going
in: NASA's Stardust space probe is expected to reach Wild-2
about five years after launch, at a point almost twice Earth's distance
from the sun. As the probe approaches, it will unfurl the tennis
racket and fly to a position below Wild-2's orbit. Stardust is expected
to close within 93 miles of Wild-2's nucleus. Even at that distance,
the spacecraft risks becoming cosmic road kill. Bullet-proof shields
can protect the probe from objects the size of peas, but larger
strikes could cripple it.
Gathering
data: During the craft's 10 hours with the comet's coma, an
onboard camera will take pictures while a spectrometer gathers data
on Wild-2's chemical makeup. Sensors will monitor the size and frequency
of dust particles as they strike the probe.
 Coming
home: If the tiny spacecraft survives, it will begin a two-year
trip home. Assuming Stardust stays on track, the clamshell Sample
Return Capsule will be pushed away from the probe as it nears Earth.
It is scheduled to parachute to Earth on Jan. 15, 2006, having traveled
3.2 billion miles.
Names
in Space
  The
Stardust mission will give more than a million earthlings their
chance to mingle with the stars.
As
a public outreach project, NASA asked people to submit their names
to be etched on a microchip that would fly aboard the spacecraft.
A microchip containing 136,000 names collected over the Internet
-- as well as photos and letters from key Stardust project members
-- has been put inside the capsule for return to Earth. Another
chip with a million more names will remain on the expendable Stardust
probe as it flies aimlessly through space, its mission completed.
If
the probe eventually drifts beyond the boundaries of our solar system,
the names on the chip could achieve a sort of immortality, not unlike
some of the comets themselves. |
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