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Comets
| comet - A small celestial body
composed at least partially of ices. Comets either orbit the
Sun or pass through the Solar System on hyperbolic orbital paths. |
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- Deep
Space 1 launched from Cape Canaveral on October 24, 1998.
During a highly successful primary mission, it tested 12 advanced
technologies in space.
- Stardust
is the space mission that will fly close to a comet and,
for the first time ever, bring cometary material back to Earth
for analysis by scientists worldwide. Set for launch in February
1999, Stardust will be the first U.S. mission dedicated solely
to a comet and the first robotic return of extraterrestrial material
from outside the orbit of the Moon. Its primary goal is to collect
comet dust and volatile samples during a planned close encounter
with comet Wild 2 in January of 2004. Additionally, the Stardust
spacecraft will also bring back samples of interstellar dust including
the recently discovered dust streaming into the solar system from
the direction of Sagittarius.
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