The purpose of the Genesis mission is to observe the
solar wind, entrap its particles and return them to
Earth. After launch, the spacecraft traveled to a point
about 1.5 million kilometers (just under 1 million miles)
from Earth where the gravities of Earth and the Sun
are balanced: the Lagrange 1 point, or "L1." At this
location Genesis was well outside of Earth's atmosphere
and magnetic environment, allowing it to collect a pristine
sample of the solar wind. Genesis' overall flight path
resembles a series of loops: first curving towards the
Sun and away from Earth to the L1 point, circling five
times around it, then falling back for a brief loop
around the opposite Lagrange point, called "L2," in
order to position the spacecraft for a daylight return
to Earth.
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