NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The protective cover is removed from a sample collection as scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston get ready for analysis of the Genesis spacecraft's solar wind collectors to measure solar oxygen isotopic composition, the highest priority measurement objective for Genesis. The collectors, called concentrator targets, collected solar oxygen ions during the Genesis mission. Scientists will analyze them to measure solar oxygen isotopic composition, the highest priority measurement objective for Genesis. The data may hold clues to increase scientists' understanding of how the solar system formed.

Credit: NASA/JSC

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