Just Elvia

Two European teams are participating in an all-star project consisting of labs from all over the globe investigating the origins of the solar system. The labs are studying space particles collected by the spacecraft Stardust. Stardust was sent to the edges of the solar system to collect material left behind by the Wild 2 comet, which is presumed to have formed around the same time as our system. Experts hope the dust contains material from that time untouched by solar radiation. To help analyse the ancient grains, samples have been sent across the globe, including to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Project findings were recently reported in a special series in Science