This is an artist's rendition of the Genesis spacecraft.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
In the Beginning...
News story originally written on July 18, 2001
On July 30, 2001, NASA is set to launch the next of its robotic
space missions: The Genesis mission. The Genesis spacecraft will orbit
the Sun and collect particles that make up the
solar wind.
These particles will be taken back to earth by the spacecraft, then passed to a helicopter in mid-air because they are too fragile for a parachute landing. Scientists will then study these particles to see what exactly the solar wind is made of. Once they know this, they will be able to understand more about what the Sun is made of and how the Sun was born! Cool!
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