UK scientists benefit from interstellar bounty
11 Jan 2006 by Evoluted New Media
K scientists will be among the first in the world to examine samples of the comet Wild 2 when a NASA capsule returns to Earth this Sunday morning
UK scientists will be among the first in the world to examine samples of the comet Wild 2 when a NASA capsule returns to Earth this Sunday morning.
Four UK institutions have been invited to be part of the preliminary examination teams: scientists from the Open University, the Natural History Museum, Imperial College and the University of Kent will be hoping that the material provides a key to unlock some of the secrets of the Solar System.
The Stardust capsule will return
comet samples and interstellar dust
Professor Monica Grady, of the Open University’s Planetary and Space Science Research Institute, said: “The tiny particles that the Stardust mission is bringing back are the most scientifically exciting and technically challenging material that we have ever had the opportunity to study”.
The landing of the capsule marks the return of NASA’s Stardust mission which has been on a three billion-mile trip to collect pristine cometary material and interstellar dust. It is the first time in the history of space exploration that samples from interstellar space have been returned to Earth.
Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive Officer of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), which part funded the UK involvement in Stardust, said, “The return of the samples from Stardust is a truly remarkable feat. It is particularly exciting that scientists from the UK will be some of the first to analyse the samples – helping to further our understanding of the origins of the Solar System.”
