End of Mission
On March 24, 2011, Stardust conducted a burn to consume its remaining fuel. The spacecraft had little fuel left and scientists hoped the data collected would help in the development of a more accurate system for estimating fuel levels on spacecraft. After the data had been collected, no further antenna aiming was possible and the transmitter was switched off. The spacecraft sent an acknowledgement from approximately 312,000,000 kilometers (194,000,000 mi) away in space.
Read more about this topic: Stardust (spacecraft)
Famous quotes containing the word mission:
“Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth, to make truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth.”
—Umberto Eco (b. 1932)