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STARDUST: Comet and Interstellar Dust Sample Return Mission
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 February 2018
Abstract
STARDUST, a Discovery-class mission, will return intact samples of cometary dust and volatiles from comet P/Wild 2, as well as samples of the interstellar dust moving through the solar system. Dust capture utilizes aerogel, a microporous silica that is capable of intact capture of hypervelocity particles. A navigation camera, an in situ dust analyzer, and a dust flux monitor complete the payload. The Wild 2 flyby takes place in January 2004, with Earth return in January 2006.
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- VII. Instrumentation
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- Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1996
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