NASA still waiting for last of spacecraft's comet photos
Posted on: Sunday, 4 January 2004, 06:00 CST
NASA still waiting for last of spacecraft's comet photos
Associated Press
Sunday, January 4, 2004
Pasadena, Calif. -- NASA on Saturday was hoping to receive the last of dozens of close-up photographs a spacecraft took of a distant comet, but officials did not expect to release more photos to the public until Monday.
The Stardust spacecraft took 72 images of the dark nucleus of comet Wild 2 during a derring-do flyby Friday that occurred 242 million miles from Earth.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hoped to receive the last of the black-and-white images by late Saturday.
NASA so far has released a single black-and-white photo of the comet nucleus, thought to be just 3.3 miles across. It showed what looked like a giant frozen meatball pocked with sinkholes.
The spacecraft swooped within 149 miles of the frozen ball of rock and ice to collect samples from its glittering halo of dust and gas, and bring them to Earth.
Stardust recorded bursts of particles spewed by active jets on the surface of Wild 2 (pronounced Vilt-2) as it safely plowed through the gossamer cloud that envelops the comet. The spacecraft also snagged an untold number of the minuscule specks of dust, believed to be primitive leftovers from the formation of our solar system, for later study on Earth.
Altogether, Stardust was expected to collect less than a thimbleful of dust, which the spacecraft is scheduled to jettison back to Earth when it sweeps past our planet in January 2006.
Scientists want to return samples of the dust particles to Earth for study because they represent pristine examples of the building blocks of our solar system dating back 4.6 billion years. They also believe the dust contains many of the organic molecules necessary for life, which comets could have pelted the Earth with eons ago.
Two other cometary missions, one European and one U.S., are expected to be launched this year.
On the Net: http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
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