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PHOTO INDEX OF PRIMARY TARGETS ASTEROIDS COMETS EARTH JUPITER KUIPER BELT MARS MERCURY METEORITES NEPTUNE OORT CLOUD PLUTO SATURN SOLAR SYSTEM SPACE SUN URANUS VENUS ORDER PRINTS OTHER PHOTO INDEXES ALL TARGETS PHOTO CATEGORIES SCIENCEVIEWS AMPHIBIANS BIRDS BUGS FINE ART FOSSILS INDIAN INDIAN MAMMALS OTHER PARKS PLANTS RELIGIOUS REPTILES ROCKS & MINERALS SCIENCEVIEWS PRINTS

STARDUST Comet Wild-2 Encounter Target Name:   Comet Wild-2 Spacecraft:   Stardust Produced by:   NASA/JPL Copyright:  NASA Copyright Free Policy Date Released:  13 June 2001 Related Document Stardust Spacecraft Download Options Name Type Width x Height Size stardust2.jpg JPEG 512 x 640 36K stardust2.jpg JPEG 2400 x 3000 415K This artistic picture shows the Stardust spacecraft during the comet P/Wild 2 encounter. The primary objective of the Stardust mission was to fly by comet P/Wild 2 and collect samples of dust and volatiles in the coma of the comet. It will then return these samples to Earth for detailed study. The mission will also collect samples of interstellar dust grains. Other objectives involve imaging the comet nucleus and preliminary analysis of the composition of the cometary dust particles. On Earth the cometary samples, representing primitive substances from the formation of the solar system, will undergo detailed analyses of the elemental, isotopic, mineralogical, chemical, and biogenic properties. The samples of interstellar dust, material from outside our solar system, will be carefully examined on Earth in regards to composition and size and velocity distribution.

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