Analysis of "Midnight" Tracks in the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector: Possible Discovery of a Contemporary Interstellar Dust Grain

In January 2006, the Stardust sample return capsule returned to Earth bearing the first solid samples from a primitive solar system body, Comet 81P/Wild2, and a collector dedicated to the capture and return of contemporary interstellar dust. Both collectors were approximately 0.1m(exp 2) in area and were composed of aerogel tiles (85% of the collecting area) and aluminum foils. The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector (SIDC) was exposed to the interstellar dust stream for a total exposure factor of 20 m(exp 2) day. The Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination (ISPE) is a three-year effort to characterize the collection using nondestructive techniques

Four Interstellar Dust Candidates from the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector

In January 2006, the Stardust sample return capsule returned to Earth bearing the first solid samples from a primitive solar system body, Comet 81P/Wild2, and a collector dedicated to the capture and return of contemporary interstellar dust. Both collectors were approx. 0.1 sq m in area and were composed of aerogel tiles (85% of the collecting area) and aluminum foils. The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector (SIDC) was exposed to the interstellar dust stream for a total exposure factor of 20 sq m/day. The Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination (ISPE) is a consortium-based project to characterize the collection using nondestructive techniques. The goals and restrictions of the ISPE are described . A summary of analytical techniques is described

Evidence for interstellar origin of seven dust particles collected by the Stardust spacecraft

Seven particles captured by the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector and returned to Earth for laboratory analysis have features consistent with an origin in the contemporary interstellar dust stream. More than 50 spacecraft debris particles were also identified. The interstellar dust candidates are readily distinguished from debris impacts on the basis of elemental composition and/or impact trajectory. The seven candidate interstellar particles are diverse in elemental composition, crystal structure, and size. The presence of crystalline grains and multiple iron-bearing phases, including sulfide, in some particles indicates that individual interstellar particles diverge from any one representative model of interstellar dust inferred from astronomical observations and theory

Stardust interstellar preliminary examination - First results

International audienceThe Stardust spacecraft exposed an aerogel and aluminum foil collector to the interstellar dust stream for a total of 195 days before its encounter with Comet P81/Wild2. We report the first results of the Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination. This is a formidable task because of the large collecting area (~1000 cm 2), the small expected statistics (a few dozen particles), the diminutive size of the captured particles (23,000 “citizen scientists” worldwide using the Stardust@home virtual microscope tools. We have confirmed this identification of secondary ejecta by the identification of Ce and Zn in these particles, but also detected evidence for extraterrestrial material from the original impactors in the form of Fe, Ni and Mg. FTIR and STXM analyses give quantitative upper limits on extraterrestrial organics, and have allowed for the quantitative evaluation of beam damage and carbon deposition during analyses. We have also identified alumina as a contaminant in the aerogel. No measurements have yet been made on the Al foil collectors