Catching Stardust by Starkey, Natalie -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Half-Title Series Dedication Title Contents Preface Chapter 1: Introduction

Visiting and sampling space Comets and asteroids Life on Earth Visiting comets and asteroids Comets and asteroids in history

Chapter 2: A 4.6-Billion-Year Journey into the Deep Freeze

Forming the Solar System out of the interstellar ether Forming comets and asteroids Forming planets The difference between comets and asteroids The comets The asteroids The dance of Jupiter – accounting for the asteroid belt The Nice Model – accounting for the Oort Cloud comets, and the surface of the Moon Asteroid or comet? It’s anyone’s guess Materials older than the Sun Comets and asteroids near to the Earth

Chapter 3: Comets and Asteroids on Earth

The arrival of space rocks on Earth Where to find a meteorite Finders keepers Figuring out where meteorites came from Forming the Earth’s Moon What’s in a comet or asteroid? The age of the Earth Altering meteorites in space Uniting astronomy and sample science

Chapter 4: Shooting Stars and Space Dust

Dust in space Space dust on Earth Collecting dust from space … on Earth Comets and asteroids in the laboratory Delving into the history of comet dust – an international laboratory effort Probing inside the comets The life of cometary dust revealed by oxygen 4.6-billion-year-old organic matter, preserved in cometary dust

Chapter 5: Water and Life on Earth and in Space

Where is all the water in the Solar System? Life on Earth Earth’s water The result of impacts Extraterrestrial organic material Organic matter doesn’t necessarily mean life Why is Earth apparently so special? Measuring the Solar System’s water The heavy water problem Water in comets and asteroids Organic matter on Earth and in space Amino acids in space

Chapter 6: Taking the Science to Space

Approaching comets Approaching asteroids Why don’t we return more rock from space? Sample return versus space-based measurements The impact of space on Earth

Chapter 7: The Stardust Mission

Collecting comet Wild2 Collecting interstellar dust Analysing comet dust Wild2’s organic matter Finding interstellar dust Comet or asteroid? Moving the inner Solar System outwards The impact of Stardust The future of Stardust

Chapter 8: The Rosetta Mission

Chasing a comet Why comet 67P/C-G? A tale of two comets Rendezvous Choosing somewhere to land Landing on a comet Sniffing the comet Philae’s final gasp Up close and personal with 67P/C-G The comet’s ice Mission end

Chapter 9: Space Mining

Proximity and purpose Where to process the space goodies? Which space objects are going to be exploited first? How do we begin looking for resources in space? Who is already in the game? Tug and park – driving space objects Mining asteroids for metal Mining water – a universal solvent as useful in space as on Earth Human role in space mining Who owns space rocks?

Chapter 10: Mission ‘Save Planet Earth’

The impact of an impact Working out where everything is and how likely it is to collide with Earth So, we’ve decided we’re in the firing line … what next? Smash, grab, obliterate Why should we care?

Epilogue Glossary Acknowledgements Index Plates Copyright