Question 1

True or false: The Stardust sample return capsule burned up completely upon re-entry.

Accepted Answer

False. It survived intact, parachuted to the Utah desert, and was recovered successfully with samples inside.

Question 2

True or false: Stardust returned samples of comet Wild 2 to Earth in 2006.

Accepted Answer

True. The spacecraft collected dust from the comet's coma and delivered the sealed capsule to Utah, the first comet sample return.

Question 3

True or false: Stardust’s secondary mission was to study Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Accepted Answer

False. Its extended mission, Stardust-NExT, flew by comet Tempel 1, not Europa. No Europa flyby occurred.

Question 4

True or false: Stardust used a solar sail for propulsion to save fuel.

Accepted Answer

False. It used conventional hydrazine thrusters, not a solar sail—no spacecraft has used a solar sail for primary propulsion yet.

Question 5

True or false: Stardust was the first mission to return material from beyond the Moon.

Accepted Answer

False. The Genesis mission returned solar wind particles in 2004, becoming the first to bring back material from beyond the Moon. Stardust, which returned comet dust in 2006, was the first to return samples from a comet.

Question 6

True or false: Stardust discovered glycine, an amino acid, in comet Wild 2 samples.

Accepted Answer

True. Scientists found glycine, a building block of life, confirming comets can carry organic molecules important for life’s origins.

Question 7

True or false: Stardust also collected interstellar dust particles, not just comet dust.

Accepted Answer

True. During its cruise, Stardust exposed its aerogel collector to capture grains from outside our solar system.

Question 8

True or false: Stardust flew past asteroid Annefrank in 2002 as a test target.

Accepted Answer

True. En route to Wild 2, it performed a flyby of asteroid Annefrank, testing its navigation and camera systems.

Stardust spacecraft Trivia Questions