The STARDUST spacecraft continues to perform normally in cruise.
Nine Navigation Camera star images were transmitted to Earth where they
are being analyzed in detail. The camera used two different exposures,
all 8 filters and moved the mirror to about 90 degrees so that the images
were not taken through the periscope. At first look, the star images
appear to be dimmer than expected, but more analysis need to be performed
before this can be verified.
The command load for the next cruise sequence was successfully
transmitted to the spacecraft by the flight team at Lockheed Martin
Astronautics (LMA).
The Lead Scientist of the German Cometary and Interstellar Dust
Analyzer (CIDA) instrument visited JPL along with the LMA Flight Systems
Manager to review the flight operations of CIDA. CIDA has been performing
well.
For more information on the STARDUST mission – the first ever comet sample
return mission – please visit the STARDUST home page:
