Stardust set for return
2006-01-15 09:12
Washington - A capsule from the US space probe Stardust is scheduled to parachute to Earth on Sunday, carrying precious samples of dust collected from stars and comets that scientists hope will shed light on the early solar system.
After a marathon seven-year voyage, a capsule from the space craft weighing 46kg and carrying a teaspoonful of space dust is due to land in the western US state of Utah at 10:12 GMT.
In the first attempt to collect space dust beyond the Moon, the particles gathered date back to before the solar system was born, or about 4.5bn years ago.
The US space agency probe has flown 4.63bn km in space, or 10 000 times more than the distance separating Earth from the Moon.
Stardust will jettison the container holding the rare dust as it flies past the Earth on Sunday and then head out again to orbit the sun.
The speed of the capsule as it streaks into Earth's atmosphere at 46 440km/h will be the fastest on record of any human-made object, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). The previous record was set by the returning Apollo command module in 1969.
If all goes as planned, the Stardust capsule will release a parachute at about 32km and descend for what Nasa hopes will be a gentle landing in the Utah desert.