Just a quick blip of a post here; I've been busy with school preparations the past couple days, along with some other commitments, and should be able to start actually properly contributing here again over the course of this next week (famous last words).
Despite that, though, this was simply too cool a space mission not to mention:
The Genesis probe is a week away from the dramatic conclusion to its mission: returning to Earth a sample of the solar wind, particles from the Sun....
To preserve the delicate cargo, it will be captured mid-air using helicopters flown by Hollywood stunt pilots.
It is the first return of material to be retrieved from beyond the Moon.
As far as sample return missions go, this one seems pretty impressive. Alas, Martian sample returns remain awhile away, but nabbing a fistful of the Sun itself counts as cool.
Posted by zibblsnrt at September 4, 2004 11:21 PM