Genesis Special Update Page
Link to the continuation of this special update on Genesis Special Update 2 page ( 11 k )
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Scientists Literally Chip Away Genesis Capsule
18 Sep 2004, 02:14 UTC
NASA News NEWS RELEASE: 2004-231
Very little information has been reported concerning the recovery of solar wind particles from a specially designed capsule. The capsule crashed into Utah's desert on 08 Sep 2004.
The capsule, containing the world's only specimen of solar wind, was never intended to reach the surface of Earth. The plan for recovering the capsule included the capsule parachuting its way through the atmosphere to be snagged by a hook from a helicopter. The plan called for the capsule, and its rare specimen of solar wind, to be transported by helicopter to a "clean room" located on the U.S. Army's Proving Ground in Dugway, Utah.
The capsule mentioned above was never intended to touch the ground. Touch the ground it did - as it buried over one half of its self in Utah's rocky and sandy surface.
The capsule is being chipped away exposing collection material containing small amounts of solar wind particles. There is supposition that the material being recovered from the damaged capsule can be analyzed and that it will provide useful information. That has not occurred at the time of writing this article.
The exact nature of the scientific payload seams to change some each time news is released. The latest news release claims that the genesis' mission's main priority is to measure oxygen isotopes. Like prior missions, the genesis mission is expected to provide a deeper understanding into the origin of the universe.
We will provide additional information on the intriguing Genesis Mission as it becomes available.
Facts reported in this article come from "NASA News Release 2004 - 231. Published 16 Sep 2004 by JPL / NASA. KC4COP
For more information regarding the recovery and analysis of Genesis samples please contact Bill Jeffs of NASA Johnson Space Center at 281-483-5035 or via email at william.p.jeffs@nasa.gov.
News and information about Genesis is available on the Internet at http://www.nasa.gov/genesis. For background information about Genesis, visit http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/
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The Solar Wind Sample Returns:
08 Sep 2004
Readers responded in a big way to the first article on the Genesis Mission that appeared on this Web Site. The first article was really just a short filler on a page about the solar wind. The article appeared late in the year 2000 or early 2001 (Solar Wind -Space Weather). The brief article generated a few hundred e-mail letters arriving in our In-Box within approximately 24-hours. Many of the e-mail letters that we received accused us of fabricating a story. Others thought the article was a joke that we interjected in a serious article on the components of solar wind.
The first of many articles, news releases and updates on the Genesis project began with the line: "
Spacecraft to scoop up a sample of the Sun and parachute it back to Earth. I promise I am not making this up!
The Genesis spacecraft was launched in August of 2001. The Spacecraft was sent toward the Sun to orbit an area in space close to Lagrangian Point L1 , which is approximately 1-million miles (1.5 Km) from Earth.. In November of 2001 the Genesis spacecraft opened it inner doors revealing the collecting array. The Spacecraft started capturing samples of the solar wind in December of 2001, using a substance called metallic glass. Sample collection of solar wind particles by Genesis ended on 01 April 2004.
Samples of solar wind particles will arrive on Earth on 08
September 2004. The particles will be
housed
in a special container that will start a parachute drop from an altitude of
108,000 feet over Utah. Approximately 18-minutes after the parachute opens, one
of two helicopters will snag the falling canister with a hook that immediately
collapses the parachute. The canister will then be transported to the ground via
helicopter.
Genesis' progress during its mission has been monitored by Earth stations using the Deep Space Network. Readers may watch the helicopter capture of the Genesis canister on the NASA TV Network via the World Wide Web (www) starting on 08 September 2004, at 18:00 UTC (11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time -U.S.A.).
One of the links to the live NASA telecast is http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/webcast/genesis/. Other links can be found on the Web Site's Links page. Get your list of web links ready well a head of time. Space will be very limited. Most Links will require that you have "Real Player" or Windows Media Player installed to receive coverage of the event. There is a link to allow you to download "Real Player" on the various NASA TV sites (we refuse to publish links to Real Player products on the Web Site)
Lagrangian Point L1 is an area outside of Earth's magnetic field, in a position between Earth and the Sun - where the gravity of both bodies is balanced.
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Link to the continuation of this special update on Genesis Special Update 2 page ( 11 k )
Link to an article on the Genesis Mission
Link to Genesis pictures.
Link to a page on the Web Site named Genesis Updates
Link to part two of the Genesis Mission: Solar Wind 2