Any genre that reaches for the stars is about to ring its fingers. Probably more than once.
One of NASA’s posts on the Astronomical Photography website of the Day is a landmark reminder of the misfortunes of our space history.
“A sailboat flew from outer space to land in the Utah desert after it was detected by radar and operated by helicopters,” the description of the photo, which was posted in the U.S. -November 2018, although NASA is not advertising at an alien visit here.
The banged-up dish, half-buried in the desert sands, was the return capsule of the Genesis spacecraft. And he had no right to rub down in such a brutal way.
Launched on August 8, 2001, the mission of Genesis was the spacecraft’s ambitious effort to launch a spacecraft into the solar wind of our home star, collect samples, and bring them back to Earth. .
By collecting data on the composition of the charged grains emanating from the solar corona, researchers hoped to confirm the star’s decision in detail, and learn more about the surrounding elements. when the planets of the Solar System were created.
To bring us solar wind samples, the Genesis craft was equipped with a sample return capsule holding a canister of solar wind material, which was collected when the craft spent two years circulating point Lagrange 1 – one of the spots in space where the pressure was from Earth and the Sun. well balanced.
The craft captured the solar wind by folding out a series of collectible arrays, each loaded with pure materials such as aluminum, sapphire, silicon, and even gold.
Artist presents the spaceship with the heights folded out. (NASA / JPL-Caltech)
“The materials we used in Genesis collection arrays had to be physically strong for unbroken launch; we kept the sample while they were heated by the Sun at assembly time; and true enough that we could study the solar wind elements after Earth ‘s return, “explained project scientist Amy Jurewicz on September 3, 2004.
Five days later, that sample capsule and its precious heights broke into the ground in Utah, at an estimated speed of 310 km / h (193 mph).
(USAF 388th Range Sqd., Genesis Mission, NASA)
What was about to happen was quite different – 127 seconds after it went back into the atmosphere, a mortar on board the capsule would blow, releasing a starting parachute to slow down and fix the descent.
The main parachute, then, was to enter, gently descending the capsule into the Utah Test and Training Area.
In the crash picture, you can see helicopters – they were approaching nearby, ready to pluck the capsule in mid – air and ferry directly to a washroom to avoid contamination of the samples.
None of these paratroopers used.
After careful examination, the error was traced back to a set of sensors, almost the size of a pencil metal head. They were reinstalled.
These tiny devices were supposed to detect the growing g-forces as the capsule fell to the ground, encouraging the use of the parasites.
As you might expect, the crash wreaked havoc, breaking several of the heights and polluting the interior cargo.
As soon as the sample capsule was recovered from the sinking site, the project team began to look for anything that could be recovered and examined it.
One of the Genesis team, Karen McNamara, will be investigating the damage to the capsule. (NASA)
Fortunately, the Genesis mission was not completely destroyed, even after such a spectacular arrival of the sample capsule. Some of the collectibles remained strong, and researchers were able to clean the surfaces without disturbing the solar materials inside.
Within three years, a series of papers was published on the results of Genesis. Thanks to the daring mission, we learned unprecedented details about the making of the sun and the fundamental differences between our star and the planets inside the Solar System.
“The Sun currently occupies over 99 percent of the material in our Solar System, so it’s a good idea to get to know it better,” said a senior. Genesis study Don Burnett from the California Institute of Technology in 2011.
“While it has been more challenging than expected, we have answered some important questions, and like all successful missions, we have created many more.”
A version of this story was first published in November 2018.