News Improving for Genesis Mission

by | Sep 13, 2004 | Sail Concepts

Even as NASA announced the head of the Genesis Mishap Investigation Board (Dr. Michael Ryschkewitsch, Director of the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center), unexpectedly good news from the mission continued to mount. At least two of the four segments of the solar wind concentrator Genesis carried seem to be intact, and the gold foils used to analyze nitrogen isotopes have also survived.

Even the hexagonal wafers that collected solar wind particles may yield good data, despite the fact that all or nearly all are broken. “”We won’t really know how many can be recovered for some time, but we are far more hopeful important science can be conducted than we were on Wednesday,” said Dr. Roger Wiens of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a member of the Genesis science team. “We are very encouraged.”

This is astoundingly good news to anyone who watched Genesis hit the ground at the Utah Test & Training Range at close to 200 mph on September 8. And what a commentary on the design of the spacecraft that anything could survive this impact. More on the mission can be found at NASA’s Genesis site.

Other sources: “Genesis Scientists Bouncing Back from Hard Landing,” (NASA press release 04-296); “NASA Appoints Genesis Mishap Investigation Board Leader,” (NASA release 04-295).

0 Comments

Now Reading

Charter

In Centauri Dreams, Paul Gilster looks at peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration, with an eye toward interstellar possibilities. For many years this site coordinated its efforts with the Tau Zero Foundation. It now serves as an independent forum for deep space news and ideas. In the logo above, the leftmost star is Alpha Centauri, a triple system closer than any other star, and a primary target for early interstellar probes. To its right is Beta Centauri (not a part of the Alpha Centauri system), with Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon Crucis, stars in the Southern Cross, visible at the far right (image courtesy of Marco Lorenzi).

Recent Posts

On Comments

If you'd like to submit a comment for possible publication on Centauri Dreams, I will be glad to consider it. The primary criterion is that comments contribute meaningfully to the debate. Among other criteria for selection: Comments must be on topic, directly related to the post in question, must use appropriate language, and must not be abusive to others. Civility counts. In addition, a valid email address is required for a comment to be considered. Centauri Dreams is emphatically not a soapbox for political or religious views submitted by individuals or organizations. Human comments only, please -- cut and paste from AI will not be acceptable. A long form of the policy can be viewed on the Administrative page. The short form is this: If your comment is not on topic and respectful to others, I'm probably not going to run it.


Advanced Propulsion Research

Beginning and End

Archives