Stardust Status Report

August 29, 2003

There was one Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking pass in the past week. The DSN was able to obtain real time telemetry from the Stardust spacecraft for the first time in three weeks as the Sun-Earth-Probe (SEP) angle became greater than 1 degree.

A peer review of the Comet Wild 2 cometary dust production model is expected in mid-September.

An Earth-based observing plan for Comet Wild 2 has been drafted that includes Keck, Lowell and Table Mountain observatories. These observations will be taken as Comet Wild 2 comes out from behind the Sun in late December, in time to validate the Comet Wild 2 dust production and ephemeris models before final targeting of the flyby in January 2004.

Information on the present position and orbits of the Stardust spacecraft and Comet Wild 2 may be found on the "Where Is Stardust Right Now?" web page located at:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/scnow.html

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