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STARDUST will take four years to reach Comet Wild-2, and another two to return to earth. It will carry onboard fuel for its thrusters, but it also needs a reliable source of electricity to power the navigation and communication systems, and the sample collectors.
How should we power the STARDUST spacecraft?
 Fuel cells |
 Solar panels |
 Nuclear power |
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Fuel cell image courtesy Schatz Energy Research Center, Humboldt State
University, California. Spacecraft images copyright 1996-97, California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. Further reproduction prohibited. |