Hollywood
stunt pilots are working with NASA’s Genesis mission to
capture the first samples returned from space since Apollo
17 returned Moon rocks in 1972. A media event surrounding
the flight training of the Genesis helicopter crew will take
place April 15 at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in
Yuma, Ariz. Media are invited to watch the training and
interview pilots and Genesis mission team members.

The pilots and engineers are preparing for the return of
NASA’s Genesis spacecraft, which is en route back to Earth
after capturing particles of the solar wind. The spacecraft
will dispatch a sample return capsule that will re-enter
Earth’s atmosphere for a planned landing at the U.S. Air
Force Utah Test and Training Range in September. To
preserve the delicate particles of the Sun, specially
trained helicopter pilots will snag the return capsule from
mid-air using giant hooks. The flight crews for the two
helicopters assigned for Genesis capture and return are
comprised of former military aviators, Hollywood stunt
pilots, and an active duty Air Force test pilot.

Media must arrive at a rendezvous point just off the Yuma
Proving Ground facility no later than 6:15 a.m. (local
time). They will caravan onto the Yuma facility where they
will witness a Genesis pre-test flight briefing; watch the
helicopter crew do its pre-flight and launch; go onto the
range to watch first-hand as the Genesis helicopter team
practices grabbing the space sample return capsule in
mid-air; and return to the air field for a post-mission
debriefing.

NASA’s Genesis mission was launched in August of 2001 to
capture samples from the storehouse of 99 percent of all the
material in our solar system – the Sun. These samples,
collected on wafers of gold, sapphire, silicone and diamond,
will be returned for analysis by Earth-bound scientists. The
samples Genesis will provide will supply scientists with the
composition of the Sun as well as shed light on the origins
of our solar system.

More information about Genesis is available at:
http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/. More information about
the actual capture and return process is available at:
http://www.genesismission.org/mission/recgallery.html.