NASA · Aerospace · 1999
First spacecraft to return samples from a comet. Flew through the coma of Comet 81P/Wild 2 in January 2004 at 6.1 km/s, collecting particles in an aerogel collector, and returned the sample capsule to Earth in January 2006. Recovered particles included a new mineral, glycine (amino acid), and pre-solar grains. Later repurposed as Stardust-NExT for a flyby of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 in 2011.
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View full interactive profile, comparisons & videos →| Category | Aerospace |
| Sub-type | Sample Return Spacecraft |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Year | 1999 |
| Origin | USA |
| Also known as | Stardust, Stardust-NExT (extended mission) |
| Announced | 1995 |
| Released | 1999-02-07 |
| Dimensions (H×W×D) | 1700 × 660 × 660 mm |
| Weight | 300 kg |
| Frame | Aluminum honeycomb |
| Chipset | Mongoose-V (rad-hard MIPS R3000) |
| Made in | USA (Lockheed Martin Space Systems) |
