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Capsule, Stardust
Lockheed Martin Missile and Space Corporation
Stardust was the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to returning extraterrestrial material from beyond the Moon. It collected samples from Comet Wild 2 and interstellar dust. Launched in 1999, it returned to Earth seven years later, parachuting to a landing in the Utah desert in 2006.
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed
- Medium
- Aluminum, ablative aeroshell, electronics
- Department
- NASM
- Institution
- National Air and Space Museum
- Object number
- nasm_A20080417000
- Credit
- Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration