Temporary Opening of the Cosmic Dust Lab at NASA JSC
March 21, 2007
The Cosmic Dust Lab at NASA Johnson Space Center has been closed since November 2005 due to requirements for the preliminary characterization of possible interstellar dust samples returned by the Stardust Mission. During this time it has not been possible to process cosmic dust samples for allocation, or to do preliminary characterization of newly received stratospheric collectors.
Due to the accumulated requests we have received for cosmic dust we are reopening the Cosmic Dust Lab only long enough to process immediate requests for samples. Please be advised that there is a strict deadline for receipt of cosmic dust requests, which will be May 1, 2007.
Therefore, please consider this announcement as fair warning. If you anticipate analyzing cosmic dust samples in the coming year, please send in your request by May 1, 2007, to permit the Working Group to properly consider it and for any subsequent allocation work to be performed during this brief lab opening. After this deadline has passed you will have to wait for the next Cosmic Dust Lab opening, probably in about 11 more months.
For more information on preparation of cosmic dust sample requests, please visit the Astromaterials Curation website.
Michael Zolensky
Associate Curator for Cosmic Dust
NASA Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX 77058 USA
[email protected]
Last updated January 30, 2008
