NASA Prepares for Return of Interstellar Cargo                   Dec. 21, 2005

NASA's Stardust mission is nearing Earth after a 2.88 billion mile round-trip
journey to return cometary and interstellar dust particles back to Earth.
Scientists believe the cargo will help provide answers to fundamental questions
about comets and the origins of the solar system.

The velocity of the sample return capsule, as it enters the Earth's atmosphere
at 28,860 mph, will be the fastest of any human-made object on record. It
surpasses the record set in May 1969 during the return of the Apollo 10 command
module. The capsule is scheduled to return on Jan. 15.

"Comets are some of the most informative occupants of the solar system. The more
we can learn from science exploration missions like Stardust, the more we can
prepare for human exploration to the moon, Mars and beyond," said Mary Cleave,
associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Several events must occur before scientists can retrieve cosmic samples from the
capsule landing at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range, southwest of
Salt Lake City. Mission navigators will command the spacecraft to perform
targeting maneuvers on Jan. 5 and 13. On Jan. 15 at 12:57 a.m. EST, Stardust
will release its sample return capsule. Four hours later, the capsule will enter
Earth's atmosphere 410,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean.

The capsule will release a drogue parachute at approximately 105,000 feet. Once
the capsule has descended to about 10,000 feet, the main parachute will deploy.
The capsule is scheduled to land on the range at 5:12 a.m. EST.

After the capsule lands, if conditions allow, a helicopter crew will fly it to
the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, for initial processing. If weather
does not allow helicopters to fly, special off-road vehicles will retrieve the
capsule and return it to Dugway. Samples will be moved to a special laboratory
at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, where they will be preserved and
studied.

"Locked within the cometary particles is unique chemical and physical
information that could be the record of the formation of the planets and the
materials from which they were made," said Don Brownlee, Stardust principal
investigator at the University of Washington, Seattle.

NASA expects most of the collected particles to be no more than a third of a
millimeter across. Scientists will slice these particle samples into even
smaller pieces for study.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the Stardust mission for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems,
Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. 

_______________
RELEASE: 05-562

Dwayne Brown/Merrilee Fellows
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-1726; (818) 393-0754

D.C. Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(818) 393-9011