NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The science canister from the Genesis mission was moved into the cleanroom at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in Utah early Wednesday evening. First, a team of specialists plucked pieces of dirt and mud that had lodged in the canister after the mission's sample return capsule landed at high speed in the Utah desert. The Genesis team will begin examining the contents of the canister on Thursday morning.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Genesis mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operated the spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.

For information about the Genesis Sample Return Mission on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/genesis. For background information about Genesis, visit http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/ .

DC Agle (818) 393-5011
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Donald Savage (202) 358-1547
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

2004-221