BBC News | In pictures | Stardust's comet mission

Sample return

Having passed Comet Wild-2, Stardust has taken a further two years to return to Earth.

On 15 January 2006, a parachute set the sample capsule on to the salt flats of the Utah desert.

Scientists will retrieve the samples for analysis, which could open new frontiers in our understanding of the Solar System.


�In pictures:�Stardust's comet mission

	Sample return Having passed Comet Wild-2, Stardust has taken a further two years to return to Earth. On 15 January 2006, a parachute set the sample capsule on to the salt flats of the Utah desert. Scientists will retrieve the samples for analysis, which could open new frontiers in our understanding of the Solar System.