Launch Of NASA Genesis To Be Webcast

Genesis will capture a piece of the Sun -- a sample of
the ions and elements in the solar wind -- and bring the samples back to Earth so that scientists can study the exact composition of the Sun and probe the solar system's origin. By studying the solar wind, scientists hope to find clues about the formation of the solar system as we know it today. The Genesis mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo.

In 2004, samples collected by Genesis will return to
Earth in a spectacular helicopter capture. Specially trained helicopter pilots will catch the sample return capsule as it parachutes to the ground at Utah's Air Force Test and Training Range. The samples will then be analyzed to provide a "Rosetta Stone" of solar material for comparing the Sun's original ingredients to those of the planets and other solar system bodies.

The Internet event, lasting two and a half hours, will begin at 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT).

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