After delivering its comet-dust cargo to Earth January 15, 2006, the Stardust spacecraft orbited Earth then “hibernated” for 6 months. On August 13, 2007, Stardust was reactivated and began its next mission: the New Exploration of Tempel 1 (NExT).
What is the Stardust spacecraft’s mission now that it has returned comet samples to Earth?
Grace Phillips, West Bend, Oregon
