January 25, 1999
Stardust launch audio available on UW web page
Stardust, a NASA Discovery mission in which the University of Washington plays a central role, is scheduled for on Feb. 6. Audio cuts with UW astronomy professor Donald Brownlee, in which he describes aspects of the mission and what will be accomplished, may be downloaded from the Stardust news web page, http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/stardust/stardust.html.
Brownlee is the principal investigator for the seven-year mission, which will capture particles from comet Wild 2 (pronounced Vihlt-2) and return them to Earth for scientific analysis. In the four cuts, Brownlee discusses how Wild 2 was chosen, the scientific goals of the mission, its implications for the emerging science of astrobiology (the search for life outside Earth) and what it means to the average person. The cuts, which range in length from 33 seconds to 2:22, may be downloaded and used in part or in their entirety in broadcast news stories. Similar cuts will be available by telephone later this week.
Additional audio will be available on the web site the day before and the day of the launch.
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