Stardust was a 300-kilogram
robotic space probe launched by
NASA on February 7, 1999. Its primary mission was to collect dust samples from the
coma of
comet Wild 2, as well as samples of
cosmic dust, and return these to Earth for analysis. It was the first
sample return mission of its kind. En route to comet Wild 2, the craft also flew by and studied the
asteroid 5535 Annefrank. The primary mission was successfully completed on January 15, 2006, when the sample return capsule returned to Earth.