Nuclear microprobe analysis of samples from the Stardust mission
The Stardust mission, which ended in success on January 15, 2006 after a seven years tour in space, brought back to the Earth the first samples of matter taken from the coma of the Wild-2 comet. This comet formed in the Kuiper's belt, 4.5 billion years ago. Its orbit far away from the Sun limited its deterioration and its composition should be consequently unchanged since its birth. The samples could thus bring valuable information for the conditions of formation of comets. (More...)
H. Khodja, 2006-07-11 00:00:00
