Stardust Probe



Let’s explore on what the curious scientists have more come up with. Here are some of the latest findings surprising and keeping the astronomers busy.



#1: NASA counts down to Pluto probe launch

NASA is planning the first Pluto probe, and on Monday it rolled out the massive rocket designed to give the probe a lift off. The rocket is 197-foot-tall, and is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral at 1:24 p.m. EST on Tuesday.



#2: Europe seeks lift for stranded space lab

ESA has been gathering dust on Earth since the U.S. space shuttle was all but grounded after a 2003 crash. Europe is now looking to thumb a ride for its 1 billion euro ($1.21 billion) space laboratory.



#3: Satellites See Largest Jet Of Particles Created Between Sun And Earth

It s a huge success for ESA’s Cluster and NASA’s ACE and Wind. For the first time, the flotilla of space-weather satellites observed steady large-scale jets of charged particles in the solar wind between the Sun and Earth. Called ‘magnetic reconnection, understanding this phenomena would help unfold the secrets of various explosive phenomena, such as solar flares, powerful gamma-ray bursts from ‘magnetars’ (dead stars noted for their extreme magnetic fields) and laboratory nuclear fusion.



#4: Stardust Plunges Back to Earth

Stardust bearing the first comet samples ever carried to Earth made a pre-dawn landing at the Army’s remote Dugway Proving Ground at the Utah desert on Sunday. It returned with microscopic samples to help unravel clues to the solar system’s origins. Comets formed in the outer fringes of the solar system from a giant cloud of gas and dust collapsed to create the sun and planets about 4.5 billion years ago. And scientists believe studying them could shed light on how the solar system formed.