Don Brownlee
Don Brownlee
came comet edge formed inner lifetime pluto recently sample solar spent system until
This comet formed at very edge of the solar system ... out by pluto ... and spent all its lifetime out there until recently it came into the inner part of the solar system, where we could sample it.
exciting mystery stay
It's a very exciting mystery story. So stay tuned.
brought close collected comet earth excellent fairly marks passed provided recent samples spacecraft time
In recent decades, spacecraft have passed fairly close to comets and provided us with excellent data. Stardust, however, marks the first time that we have ever collected samples from a comet and brought them back to Earth for study.
analyze atomic people single
People all over world will be able to analyze them down to a single atomic scale.
almost scientific secrets
Some scientific secrets will come out almost immediately.
almost scientific secrets
Some scientific secrets will come out almost immediately.
mission science
Much of the science of this mission hasn't been done yet.
collected either form found high hottest normally red samples siberia solar white
We found the hottest samples in the coldest place. These are mineral grains that normally form under high temperature conditions. They were either red hot or white hot grains. Yet they were collected in the Siberia of the solar system.
becomes crew far floating galaxy giant intrigued million names outlive people red silicon spacecraft sun
We have a crew onboard of over a million people -- their names are etched in a little silicon chip. As an astrobiology-type person, I'm intrigued by the thought that those names and that spacecraft will far outlive the Earth. When the Sun becomes a red giant and scorches the Earth, that spacecraft and those names will still be floating around the galaxy somewhere.
bright people quite sure
We weren't quite sure how bright it was going to be and some people didn't think we would see anything.
actual believe billion blocks building collecting formed information particles solar stored system
We are collecting the actual building blocks the solar system was formed from 4.5 billion years ago. We believe that the particles have a lot of information stored in them.
grabbed landed piece visited
We visited a comet, grabbed a piece of it, and landed here this morning. It was a real thrill.
comet features incredible oddly saw seen solar steep stunned system
We were stunned when we got to the comet and saw incredible features - steep cliffs, overhanging cliffs, spires and many features which, oddly enough, we had never been seen on other Solar System bodies.
analysis bringing collected comet home samples
We have successfully collected samples from the comet and we're bringing them home for analysis in laboratories all over the world.