Key Stardust Spacecraft Find Questioned

STELLAR CHEMISTRY

by Staff Writers
Madrid (UPI) Apr 10, 2007
Spanish scientists say one of the major discoveries from last year's "Stardust" space mission might have resulted from rocket booster contamination.

Stardust was the first U.S. space mission to capture samples from a comet and return the material to Earth. But scientists were surprised to find Stardust had collected tiny grains of the mineral osbornite, which chemically is titanium nitride.

Astronomers concluded the osbornite could have formed near the sun, and ejected to the outer reaches of the solar system -- an indication that the infant solar system was a much more violent and place then previous believed.

But Jesus Martinez-Frias and colleagues at the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid suggest another possible explanation.

The researchers note the Stardust's rocket thrusters used a propellant of ultra-pure hydrazine, which is also used to make titanium nitride on Earth, and might have reacted in space with titanium from the comet or spacecraft to form titanium nitride.

Martinez-Frias and colleagues say further studies are needed before reaching a final conclusion on the osbornite origin.

The theory is detailed in the May 16 issue of the journal Energy and Fuels.

Email This Article

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

STELLAR CHEMISTRY

X-ray Satellites Catch Magnetar In Gigantic Stellar Hiccup

London, UK (SPX) Apr 09, 2007
Astronomers using data from several X-ray satellites have caught a magnetar - the remnant of a massive star with an incredibly strong magnetic field - in a sort of giant cosmic blench.

SPACE TRAVEL Latest Space Tourist Docks At Space Station For Week Long Holiday Fifth Space Tourist Soars Toward Space Station Holiday In Space Gordon, Miller, Nelson Move Toward Hearings On NASA IG Investigation The Facts On US Commercial Human Space Flight	MARSDAILY Looking For An In Global Warming Hits Mars Too MARSIS Radar Estimates The Volume Of Water In The South Pole Of Mars ESA Prepares For A Human Mission To Mars
LAUNCH PAD Arianespace To Launch Australian Satellite Optus D3 Arianespace To Launch Two Intelsat Payloads Progress On The Sea Launch Investigation And Recovery Two New Payloads For Ariane 5	EARTH OBSERVATION ISRO To Focus On Societal Projects USGS Defines Roles For New Satellite Mission ESA Signs Arrangement With New Zealand On Tracking Station DMCii To Launch New Higher-Resolution Satellite Imaging Service
OUTER PLANETS Rosetta And New Horizons Watch Jupiter In Joint Campaign New Horizons Shows Off Its Color Camera In Io Image Alice Views Jupiter And Io A Look From LEISA	STELLAR CHEMISTRY Key Stardust Spacecraft Find Questioned X-ray Satellites Catch Magnetar In Gigantic Stellar Hiccup NASA Finds Evidence For New Molecular Structure In Space Dust Clouds In Cosmic Cycle
MOON DAILY Shanghai Vies To Win Battle Of Moon Rovers A Piggyback Solution For Science Versus Exploration Assembling Of Moon Mission Spacecraft Begins Dust-Busting Lunar Style	GPS NEWS Russia To Expand Glonass Satellite Group By Year End Lockheed Martin Team Completes GPS 3 System Design Review On Schedule Glonass System To Be Launched By Year-End Haicom Is Proudly Announce The New HI-601VT GPS GSM Real-Time Tracker

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement