STARDUST Status Report

There was one Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking pass in the past week, and all subsystems are normal. The Stardust spacecraft is currently 2.71 AU (405 million kilometers or 252 million miles) from the Sun.

Preparations for a system level risk assessment of the Comet Wild 2 encounter began. The risk assessment approach being used is similar to the Mars Odyssey approach performed during that mission's design and operations testing phase.

The Stardust Outreach team supported the National Science Teachers Association Conference in San Diego, CA, where about 7,000 people attended. Outreach led 8 workshops within the conference centered on the exploration of planetary bodies, including asteroid and comets.

For more information on the Stardust mission -- the first ever comet sample return mission -- please visit the Stardust home page: http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov