SOCREF at Penn State: Dr. Deborah Levin

Stardust Research Activities- the fastest human made object to reenter Earth’s atmosphere

 

Graph of chemically reacting flowsNASA's Stardust sample return capsule successfully landed at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule contains cometary and interstellar samples gathered by the Stardust spacecraft.Stardust Capsule Return as seen from NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory with a mission to explore the conditions during reentry from the light emitted by the fireball caused when the capsule streaked through the sky. The aircraft was located near the end of the trajectory, just outside of UTTR. The participating researchers are from NASA Ames, the SETI Institute, the Univer sity of Alaska, Utah State University, Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force Academy, the University of Kobe (Japan), and Stuttgart University (Germany).

The Stardust sample return capsule was transported by helicopter from its landing site at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range,January 15, 2006. This image shows the return capsule inside a protective covering. The capsule contains cometary and interstellar samples gathered by the Stardust spacecraft.This NASA TV image shows the Stardust sample return capsule in a temporary cleanroom at the Michael Army Air Field in Utah. The capsule's science canister is safely stowed inside a special aluminum carrying case awaiting transportation to the Johnson Space Center, Houston, where it will be opened.