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Dust Samples Returning to Earth at 28,860 mph

Posted by samzenpus on from the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet dept.

DjBenBen writes "After a 2.88 billion mile round-trip journey, NASA's Stardust mission is nearing Earth with comet and interstellar dust particles that could help provide answers about the origins of the solar system. Better yet, the velocity of the sample return capsule, as it enters the Earth's atmosphere at 28,860 mph, will be the fastest of any human-made object on record."

3 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. galileo 's probe quicker Re:That's fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    acc to http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journey-probe. cfm, the probe released by galileo hit jupiter's atmosphere at about 4 times that.

  2. Interstellar? by Tango42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What's the definition of interstellar dust? Wouldn't the probe have to leave the solar system to get it, which it obviously didn't?

    I would have thought interstellar dust was what's beyond the heliopause, anything inside is interplanetary at best.

    1. Re:Interstellar? by Tango42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And they somehow filter the dust based on its speed? The amount of interstellar dust is presumably far smaller than the amount of interplanetary dust, and I can't see how they could only get the interstellar stuff...