A NASA spacecraft that was dispatched 15 years ago to collect samples from a comet also snared what scientists suspect are the first dust specks from interstellar space.
The Stardust robotic spacecraft was launched in 1999 to fly by a comet and collect samples from Comet Wild 2 (pronounced "Vilt 2") and parachute them back to Earth in 2006. Before reaching the comet, the spacecraft also twice opened a collection tray to fish for particles that may have come into the solar system from interstellar space.
Now, after a Herculean effort involving thousands of volunteer researchers, scientists have what they believe are the first seven specks of dust hailing from exploded stars and other cosmic phenomena beyond the solar system.