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Stardust Sample Collection Apparatus
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Stardust Sample Collection Apparatus

instrument
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Quick Summary

The Stardust Sample Collection Apparatus was a key instrument on the U.S. space probe Stardust/NExT. Its primary function was to capture dust grains from interplanetary space and from comet Wild 2.1

The apparatus featured two arrays of aerogel, a highly porous, extremely low-density silica-based material often called "solid smoke". One array was thicker for cometary dust, and the other was thinner for interplanetary dust. These arrays were exposed in space to gently capture particles by slowing them down within the aerogel matrix.12

This instrument enabled significant discoveries, including the presence of the amino acid glycine in cometary dust, supporting the idea that life's building blocks could originate from space.1

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. Stardust/NExT
  2. aerogel

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