Stardust/NexT
Quick Summary
The Stardust/NExT mission was a United States space probe designed to collect and return dust samples from interplanetary space and a comet. Launched on February 7, 1999, Stardust first visited the asteroid Annefrank and then Comet Wild 2. A sample capsule successfully returned to Earth on January 15, 2006, carrying dust grains.1
The probe was later repurposed as NExT (New Exploration of Tempel 1) and flew by Comet Tempel 1 on February 14, 2011. This mission marked the first time a comet was visited on successive approaches to the Sun. A key instrument was the Stardust Sample Collection Apparatus, which used aerogel to gently capture dust particles.1
Significant findings included the discovery of the amino acid glycine in cometary dust, supporting the idea that life's building blocks could originate from space. The mission also revealed that cometary dust originates from the early solar system and indicated that material was mixed from the inner to the outer solar system during its formation. The Stardust/NExT mission concluded on March 24, 2011.1
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