KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- -- In this closeup of the Genesis spacecraft and Boeing Delta II launch vehicle, workers in rain gear check umbilicals on the launch tower. Genesis will be on a robotic NASA space mission to collect just 10 to 20 micrograms -- or the weight of a few grains of salt -- of solar wind, invisible charged particles that flow outward from the Sun -- and return them to Earth. This treasured smidgen of the Sun will be preserved in a special laboratory for study by scientists over the next century in search of answers to fundamental questions about the exact composition of our star and the birth of our solar system. The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched at 12:21 p.m. EDT, Aug. 3, 2001
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NASA ID
KSC-01pp1411
Date Created
August 3, 2001
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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