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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."

12 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory Red Dwarf Quote by naden · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thats like a speeding bullet stuck in the back end of a bat out of hell

    Signed Smegger.

    --
    Funtage Factor: Purple
  2. That's fast by X-Gamer · · Score: 3, Funny

    At such velocity,I sure hope the capsule won't add to the dust.

    --
    "Life," said Marvin dolefully, "loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it."
  3. Re:and before anyone starts thinking relativisticl by lpcustom · · Score: 2, Funny

    maybe it'll hit my mother-in-law's house

    --
    Beer! It's what's for breakfast!
  4. I feel safe. by doderich · · Score: 2, Funny

    After all, an organization must have a flawless track record before they're allowed to accelerate a projectile at 28,860 miles per hour towards the earth.

  5. Last time we attempted this... by Nuffsaid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let's hope for a smoother reentry than that of the Genesis probe

    --
    Nuffsaid
    ________

    Don't know about his cat, but Schroedinger is definitely dead.
  6. Re:and before anyone starts thinking relativisticl by Tango42 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Because the speed of light in a vacuum is more important than just being the speed light travels in a vacuum. It's a fundamental speed that turns up in lots of places - it's the speed of light, the speed of gravity (probably, measurements place it within the margin of error), the "speed limit" of the universe, the square root of the constant of proportionality between mass and energy, and probably a few other things I can't remember/don't know.

    The most important reason is the speed limit one - once you start getting close to c strange things start happening, which is interesting and worth thinking about. Once we get to the stage of having space probes travelling at relativistic speeds we can do all kinds of fun stuff, like sending them to other stars, etc.

  7. 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 Vellmont · · Score: 3, Informative

      The dust is interstellar because its origin is outside our solar system. That is it isn't bound gravitationally to our sun. Interstellar dust doesn't just sit around between stars, it moves relative to our solar system. IIRC it moves a lot faster than the local inter-planetary dust of our solar system (around 30 km/sec). Because of this there's interstellar dust blowing through our solar system all the time.

      --
      AccountKiller
    2. 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...

    3. Re:Interstellar? by Z0mb1eman · · Score: 2, Informative
      I believe the "interstellar dust" the article refers to comes from comets (presumably from the tail?), which are generally interstellar... not sure why the article feels the need to mention "cometary and interstellar dust" in that case, but:

      "Locked within the cometary particles is unique chemical and physical information that could be the record of the formation of the planets and the materials from which they were made," said Don Brownlee, Stardust principal investigator at the University of Washington, Seattle.
      --
      ClutterMe.com - easiest site creation on the Net. Just click and type.
  8. I, for one.. by m.h.2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... welcome our new Supersonic Dust Particle Overlords.

  9. Re:THere IS something wrong with that allegation . by LabRat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Your physics teacher needs to be fired/lynched/shot (depending on local laws)

    First of all, your units are wrong. Escape velocity is around 25,000 MILES per hour.

    Second, if the object is actually headed *towards* earth, it's own trajectory will preclude it from "escaping". Do you think anything traveling faster than escape velocity will simply quantum-tunnel through the earth?

    Third, lots of meteors enter the earth's atmosphere every day with velocities on the order of, or exceeding, the "escape velocity" of earth. Yet, somehow they magically manage to burn up in the atmosphere and/or strike the earth anyway. Wow. Do ya think that maybe, just maybe, the probe might use a similar technique/trajectory to return to earth?

    Ignorance can be cured. Stupidity is permanent. I'm not sure what camp you fall into yet.