The team is already generating preliminary data. For the latest news on Stardust, as well as other studies on interstellar dust particles and meteorites, see a series of talks and posters at the NASA Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) 2006 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. March 26-30. See http://abscicon2006.arc.nasa.gov/ for details.
Scientists believe comets like Wild-2 are the oldest solid bodies in the solar system. Yet until now, no one has seen a piece of a comet up close. Researchers expect to retrieve less than one thousandth of an ounce of material from Stardust's collection grid, but this tiny puff of dust might yield scientific gold: by comparing the structure and chemistry of Stardust grains to interstellar dust and rare meteorites rich in organic material, researchers hope to fill in some significant holes in what we know about the evolution and history of our solar system.
"It is likely that some of the carbon in our bodies was originally bound up in comets and delivered to the early Earth through impacts," explained Marc Fries of Carnegie's Geophysical Laboratory, a member of the Preliminary Examination Team. "So when we say that 'we are stardust' we are literally talking about the type of material that Stardust has returned to our laboratories for analysis."
Carnegie's researchers are studying their first Stardust sample with a brand new, $2.8 mi
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Contact: Larry R. Nittler
lrn@dtm.ciw.edu
202-478-8460
Carnegie Institution
22-Mar-2006