Spacecraft by NASA

The 380 Kg Stardust was launched by NASA on February 7, 1999 to collect dust samples and photograph the icy nucleus of the comet Wild 2. When the spacecraft flew past the comet, the impact velocity of the particles that were captured was 6,100 metres per second, up to nine times the speed of a bullet fired from a rifle. Although the captured particles were smaller than a grain of sand, high-speed capture could after their shape and chemical composition-or vaporise then entirely.