Genesis (spacecraft)

This article is about the NASA sample return mission. For the space station prototypes, see Genesis I. For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation).
Genesis
An image of a spacecraft, with two solar panels on either end, and a collection system in the open position, visible on the top of the spacecraft, with the lid open.
In its collecting configuration, the Genesis spacecraft exposed several types of solar wind collectors, as well as ion and electron monitors.
Mission typeSample-return mission
OperatorNASA · JPL
COSPAR ID2001-034A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.26884
Websitegenesismission.jpl.nasa.gov
Mission duration3 years, 30 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes[1]
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerLockheed Martin Space Systems
Launch mass636 kg (1,402 lb)[2]
Dry mass494 kg (1,089 lb)[3]
Dimensions2.3 × 2.0 m (7.5 × 6.6 ft)[3]
Power254 W (solar array / NiH2 battery)[3]
Start of mission
Launch dateAugust 8, 2001, 16:13:40 (2001-08-08UTC16:13:40) UTC[2]
(23 years, 3 months, 8 days ago)
RocketDelta II 7326-9.5 (D287)[2]
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-17A[2]
ContractorBoeing
End of mission
Landing dateSeptember 8, 2004, 15:58 (2004-09-08UTC15:58) UTC[2]
(20 years, 2 months, 8 days ago)
Landing siteDugway Proving Ground, Utah
40°11′19″N 113°12′46″W / 40.18861°N 113.21278°W / 40.18861; -113.21278

Official insignia for the Genesis mission
← Stardust
CONTOUR →

Genesis was a NASA sample-return probe that collected a sample of solar wind particles and returned them to Earth for analysis. It was the first NASA sample-return mission to return material since the Apollo program, and the first to return material from beyond the orbit of the Moon.[4][5] Genesis was launched on August 8, 2001, and the sample return capsule crash-landed in Utah on September 8, 2004, after a design flaw prevented the deployment of its drogue parachute. The crash contaminated many of the sample collectors. Although most were damaged, some of the collectors were successfully recovered.[6]

The Genesis science team demonstrated that some of the contamination could be removed or avoided, and that the solar wind particles could be analyzed using a variety of approaches, achieving all of the mission's major science objectives.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Genesis: In Depth". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Genesis: In Depth". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Genesis". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Siddiqi, Asif A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF). The NASA history series (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: NASA History Program Office. p. 2. ISBN 9781626830424. LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
  5. ^ The NASA Stardust mission launched two years before Genesis, but did not return to Earth until two years after Genesis's return.
  6. ^ "Genesis Solar Wind Samples". Curation Series. NASA/JPL.
  7. ^ Reisenfeld, Daniel B.; et al. (June 2013). "Solar Wind Conditions and Composition During the Genesis Mission as Measured by in situ Spacecraft". Space Science Reviews. 175 (1–4): 125–164. Bibcode:2013SSRv..175..125R. doi:10.1007/s11214-013-9960-2. S2CID 120682800.
  8. ^ "Genesis Science Team". NASA/JPL.