Samples from the spatial mission Stardust have been analysed by a team of the Pierre Süe Laboratory in Saclay (CEA-DSM/DRECAM et CNRS-Chimie). The technique used, nuclear reactions induced by a microbeam, allows an absolute measurement of the concentration in constitutive elements in the collected samples. The very first results for the samples of dust issued from the Wild2 comet show a great heterogeneity and variability of the collected grains. These results are published in the journal "Science". The objective is to better understand the formation of comets at the very beginning of the solar system.
(The CEA-CNRS press release -|- The highlight of the DRECAM Department).